Special advisers earn almost £10m, with Cummings paid six figures

Government special advisers were paid almost £10m last year, new figures have revealed, with Dominic Cummings among Downing Street staff on six-figure salaries.

Big money

A Cabinet Office report detailed the £9.6m pay bill for the 102 special advisers – known as Spads – from April 2019 to March 2020.

Former chief adviser Cummings, who is in the process of leaving his government post, was paid the equivalent of £140,000-£144,999 – up from £95,000-£99,999 last year.

Ex-communications chief Lee Cain, who also left Downing Street last month, was paid between £140,000 and £144,999 – the same as the previous year.

Newly-appointed press secretary Allegra Stratton, who is set to front televised briefings from Downing Street in the new year, earns between £125,000 and £129,999.

Number 10 photographer Andrew Parsons works part-time but earns the full-time equivalent of £100,000-£104,999, the figures show.

Advisers Edward Lister and Munira Mirza both earn between £140,000 and £144,999, while the prime minister’s top spin doctor Jack Doyle earns between £110,000 and £114,999.

The UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, lord Frost, earns between £125,000 and £129,999, according to the data.