UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

The Home Office has been fined £366,900 for breaching the government’s senior salary pay cap when it appointed the head of a child sex abuse inquiry.

It was penalised by the Treasury for failing to get clearance in advance before agreeing to pay Professor Alexis Jay £185,000 a year.

Since 2010, all jobs with salaries of more than £142,500 agreed by ministers have had to be signed off in advance.

The Home Office said it had reviewed procedures to avoid future breaches.

Prof Jay became the fourth chair of the troubled inquiry after replacing Lowell Goddard in August 2016.