BLACKBURN MP Jack Straw defended joining in the vote to give himself and his colleagues a massive £9,000 pay rise which today caused an angry backlash.

Mr Straw was joined by Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson and Burnley's Peter Pike in backing the 26 per cent increase which has led union leaders to accuse MPs of greed and hypocrisy.

Shadow home secretary Mr Straw was the most senior of 12 members of Labour's shadow cabinet to defy his leader Tony Blair's plea to vote for just a three per cent increase.

As well as putting MPs' pay up from £34,085 to £43,000, last night's vote will increase the salary of a cabinet minister - which Mr Straw hopes to become after the next election - by £33,000 to £103,000.

The Prime Minister's salary will soar by £60,000 to £143,000 and the opposition leader's by £32,000 to £98,000. These rises will come in after the election but junior ministers will get an immediate rise like MPs with ministers of state going up £17,000 to £74,000 and junior ministers by £17,000 to £67,000.

The pay rise was approved by an overwhelming majority of 279 votes to 154 and there was an even bigger majority (179 as against 125) to beef up MPs' pension provisions.

MPs also voted to increase their office costs allowance from £40,380 a year to £46,364 from April but they did slash their car mileage allowances - reducing the top rate from 74.1p per mile to 47.2p per mile - which will cost comes north west MPs more than £5,000 in expenses.

The whole package will cost the taxpayer £24 million a year with the salary increases for MPs and ministers alone costing £7 million.

Three East Lancashire MPs - Tory Nigel Evans and Labour's Greg Pope and Gordon Prentice voted for the three per cent limit and against the 26 per cent rise.

As public sector union leaders Ken Cameron (firemen) and Rodney Bickerstaffe (health workers) accused MPs of greed and hypocrisy Mr Straw and Mrs Anderson defended their vote.

Mr Straw said it was a free vote and he had exercised his right as an MP to vote for the increase despite Mr Blair's appeal for restraint.

He said: "I voted because it was recommended by an independent review body. Hopefully in future this will stop the unseemly spectacle of MPs voting on their own pay.

"MPs will still earn less than many public sector professionals including many head teachers, civil servants and local government workers.

"There is also the question of attracting the right people to become MPs. It is wrong that a secondary head teacher should have to take a 20 per cent pay cut to enter the House of Commons. We risk narrowing the field of people who become MPs.

"Our salaries are worth less in real terms than they were in 1964 and many MPs who use their cars a lot will suffer from the cut in allowances. I do not use my car as much as many."

Mrs Anderson echoed Mr Straw's point that it would be wrong to reject the views of the independent review body.

She said her main reason for voting for the senior salaries review body recommendation was that it was the only one which would end the annual pay vote and the bitterness and embarrassment that went with it.

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