Sue Grays taxpayer-funded salary should not be a topic of public debate, Sir Keir Starmer has claimed.
The Prime Minister also said the growing number of negative briefings about his powerful Chief of Staff were not helpful.
It emerged last week that she is being paid £170,000 a year, £3,000 more than his own salary, causing anger among advisers who have been forced to accept pay cuts.
In an interview with the BBC during his visit to New York, the PM was asked if he is going to get rid of the grumblers who are leaking information about Ms Gray - or get rid of her.
He replied: Im not going to discuss individual members of staff, whoever they are, any name of the staff you could have put to me in this interview, and Id have the same answer to you.
Downing Street sources said Sue Gray, a former civil servant, was being paid £170,000 as chief of staff, compared to the £166,000 earned by Sir Keir
Sir Keir Starmer has now said that Ms Grays salary should not be the topic of debate
I dont believe that my staff should be the subject of public debate like this, and Im not going to play any part in it.
Asked if he acknowledged that people within No 10 are unhappy and he has the responsibility to deal with it, Sir Keir said: Well, I acknowledge that briefings to you are not helpful to the government.
My focus is on what we need to do as a government to change the country for the better.
He went on: Its my job to deal with briefings, and I take responsibility for that. But, you know, I get up every day to ensure that were delivering the change that were elected into government to deliver as does every member of the cabinet.
Sir Keir was also asked if Ms Gray or the Treasury are in charge of the Government.
He replied: Look the way we do it is as you would expect, through strong Cabinet decisions.
I will openly admit the Chancellor and I are very close. We think together we have got a shared strategy and approach, and therefore, the fact that theres nothing between the Chancellor and the Prime Minister shouldnt become a surprise.
Thats how we have been operating for a number of years.
His comments came as Ms Gray accompanied him to the UN Security Council, having been with him at the White House when he held talks with President Joe Biden earlier this month.
However she did not attend Labour party conference in Liverpool this week in the wake of the row over her salary and influence.
Ms Grays salary was leaked last week by Downing Street sources to the BBC.
In an astonishing briefing to the broadcaster, they also accused Ms Gray of acting increasingly grand and acting as the only conduit for access to the PM.
[She] considers herself to be the Deputy Prime Minister, hence the salary and no other voice for the Prime Minister to hear as everything gets run through Sue, they told the broadcaster.
Another added: It was suggested that she might want to go for a few thousand pounds less than the Prime Minister to avoid this very story. She declined.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said at the time: It is false to suggest that political appointees have made any decisions on their own pay bands or determining their own pay.
Any decision on special adviser pay is made by officials not political appointees. As set out publicly, special advisers cannot authorise expenditure of public funds or have responsibility for budgets.