Local government minister Brandon Lewis has said councils should not be afraid of paying a good chief executive a ‘good salary'.

Mr Lewis this week appeared in front of the Communities and Local Government Committee's inquiry into chief officers' remuneration in an appearance that had been trailed in the national press as a fresh assault on ‘fat cat' public officials' pay.

But quizzed by MPs, Mr Lewis said: ‘If they've got a chief executive doing a good job who deserves a good salary they should not be afraid of being very clear about that and why.