If you think Sue Gray gets paid too much, wait until you hear how much HS2 execs are on

There has been an outpouring of disbelief after it was revealed that Sue Gray is out-earning the prime minister on £170,000 a year – which is £3k more than what her boss is getting.

Gray, the former Whitehall ethics chief who conducted the partygate investigation into Boris Johnson, was drafted into Sir Keir’s team before the election to be his chief of staff.

There has been widespread disbelief after the BBC revealed what she is currently being paid, which comes after the PM signed off a rebanding of the salaries for special advisers shortly after taking office in July.

But she’s hardly the highest-paid civil servant in the UK.

In fact, the CEO of HS2 was raking in over £650,000 before his departure, with another highly-paid executive receiving £259,457 which included a £31,104 bonus.

Analysis of Cabinet Office figures last year shows the earnings of 44 people at the taxpayer-funded company were paid at least £150,000 a year, or £8.8 million combined!

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.