The HS2 boss you've never heard of who earned an insane £480k more than Keir Starmer

Mark Thurston, who left his job last year, was earning almost £650,000, figures show.

By Ciaran McGrath, Senior News Reporter, David Dubas-Fisher

12:00, Thu, Sep 19, 2024 | UPDATED: 15:15, Thu, Sep 19, 2024

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More than 350 civil servants earn more than the Prime Minister, official figures have revealed.

On Tuesday, the BBC reported that Sue Gray, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, will be earning more than Sir Keir Starmer.

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, with hundreds of other public employees appointed before Labour came to power raking in even more.

Indeed, compared to Whitehall’s top earners, the annual salary of both Sue Gray and Sir Keir himself look rather modest.

Sue Gray is reportedly on a salary of £170,000 a year, £3,000 more than the PM, with the revelation believed to have angered many within the government.

Mark Thurston Keir Starmer

Mark Thurston, who left HS2 last year, was earning almost four times the PM's salary (Image: GETTY)

In total, 373 senior civil servants and senior officials in departments, agencies, and non-departmental public bodies earned more than the PM in 2022, the latest year for which figures are available.

The highest paid of those was Mark Thurston, Chief Executive of High-Speed Two Ltd.

His job had a top ceiling of £644,999 a year, although he left his job almost a year ago.

He’s followed by Andrew Haines, Chief Executive of Network Rail. His job had a top pay ceiling of £589,999 a year.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Westlake, Chief Financial Officer of Network Rail had a top limit of £419,999. Alison Atkinson, who was until last year Chief Executive & Managing Director of AWE plc, had a top limit of £414,999, and David Peattie, Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority had a limit of £399,999.

The appointment of Ms Gray, a former senior civil servant whose report into lockdown-era parties within Downing Street contributed to the downfall of then-prime minister Boris Johnson, to Sir Keir's team has been controversial.

Speaking today, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds insisted ministers have "no political input" in the pay of their advisers.

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Sue Gray earns £3,000 more than Sir Keir Starmer (Image: Getty)

Mr Reynolds said there was a "long-standing process" for determining earnings for aides and dismissed suggestions that the Prime Minister had personally intervened to increase Sue Gray's pay.

Disclosures that Ms Gray received a pay rise after the election which means she earns more than Sir Keir have sparked a row within Government and prompted opposition critics to demand answers about how the decision was made.

Mr Reynolds told Sky News: "I think it's important people understand that the pay bands for any official, any adviser, are not set by politicians. There's an official process that does that.

"I don't, for instance, get to set the pay for my own advisers who work directly for me.

"So there's a process, we don't have political input into that."

He added: "Sue Gray is getting on with the job of this Government delivering on our promises, I think that's what matters more than anything else for anyone who works in Downing Street, and I can assure you that is exactly what is happening."

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Sue Gray's report helped sink Boris Johnson's Premiership (Image: Getty)

On whether Sir Keir personally intervened to increase Ms Gray's salary, Mr Reynolds said: "There's a process that sets these things.

"It is widely recognised. It's long-standing. It hasn't changed and that is how pay bands are set for any adviser."

An HS2 spokesman said: "This is a highly technical project on a huge scale and it is necessary to employ people with the right level of expertise and skill to deliver it successfully."

In order to determine the level of remuneration for a role, HS2 Ltd benchmarks jobs against comparable organisations and pay is managed in line with government guidance.

HS2 Ltd continues to operate within its annual budget delegated by government, the spokesman added.

Mr Thurston left the company on September 30, 2023, after six and a half years in post. Mark Wild is due to replace him, but his start date has yet to be confirmed, as has his annual salary.

An NDA spokesperson said: “We are tasked with cleaning-up the UK’s 17 earliest nuclear sites safely, securely and cost effectively - the scale and complexity of our mission is significant.

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Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds (Image: Getty)

“We employ around 17,000 people, our annual budget is around £4 billion, and we generated around £1 billion of revenue last year.

“We must compete with other organisations, including in the private sector, to attract and retain high calibre and experienced people to lead this nationally critical work.”

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Over recent years we have reduced our executives’ total wage bill and the number of high earners.

"We are absolutely committed to delivering more value for the taxpayer, while also balancing this priority with the need to attract and retain the best people to ensure the railway further improves performance for passengers and freight and continues to support economic growth for our country.”

High Speed 2 (HS2) Ltd is a non-departmental public body, wholly funded by the Secretary of State for Transport and sponsored by the Department for Transport.

A Government source told Express.co.uk non-departmental public bodies - such as Network Rail, AWE and the NDA - are not government departments and their chief executives are not classified as civil servants.

Express.co.uk has also approached AWE plc for comment about the salary details.

Find the full list of top earners in our interactive table here