Mr Blair last night came under fire for awarding himself a pay rise of nearly £50,000. The Prime Minister ended the tradition of waiving a proportion of his and his Cabinet ministers' salary by announcing he will receive £163,418, while some of his top team will each get £117,979.
The Liberal Democrats described the move as a "self-inflicted wound" while a major teaching union criticised the premier's timing so soon after the election. The announcement, which coincides with the final line-up for the government, follows an independent study earlier this year which called for an end to the "distorted" parliamentary pay system.