The Lord Chancellor has decided not to take a £22,000 pay rise.

The move prompted press speculation that he had been "lent on" by the prime minister and chancellor, who feared the rise would undermine calls for "discipline" in public sector pay.

Speaking at the weekend, Gordon Brown defended Lord Irvine.

"Derry Irvine did not want this rise, he did not choose to have this rise, and he himself made his own personal decision that it was not right to take that rise," he said.

Labour MP Ian Gibson had earlier predicted a rebellion among MPs if the rise had gone ahead.

"There has obviously been some influence placed on him," he said.

"Who else would Lord Irvine talk to on a Saturday than Tony Blair?"