Ministers must end ‘barking mad’ restraints on civil service pay, union leader warns

Exclusive: Prospect boss Mike Clancy cites problems retaining technical and digital experts

Ministers must end barking mad" restraints on civil service pay or risk being unable to recruit the technical and digital specialists it needs to keep pace, a union leader has warned.

Mike Clancy, the Prospect general secretary, said the government should end the rightwing trope" that restrained the pay of highly skilled civil servants and left government unable to compete with the private sector. He said it should be realistic for senior specialists in competitive fields to be paid more than the prime minister.