ANDREA Hill said today that she is unfazed at the publicity her £220,000 salary has attracted - and the fact that it became such an election issue in Ipswich.

ANDREA Hill said today that she is unfazed at the publicity her £220,000 salary has attracted - and the fact that it became such an election issue in Ipswich.

“I think it's a fair salary for the job I've been asked to do. It's a very responsible and challenging job. It's a salary commensurate with other county chief executives, it varies very little from the amount I earned in Bedfordshire and people will judge me on the results.

“There was no discussion with me about salary and that's quite normal. I needed my salary to be commensurate with what I was earning in Bedfordshire.”

Does she think she's worth it? “The people of Suffolk will have to judge that.”

Should the county council have appointed a permanent chief officer when it might not exist in two years? “People recognise that Suffolk County Council is an enormous organisation with a budget of £1billion and 28,000 staff and it has to have someone at the top to lead the management of the organisation.

“I have a job to do in the next couple of years making sure the organisation is well led through any change.

“One of the reasons, I'm sure, the members appointed me was because I have a track record of success in managing change.

“I'm proud that Bedfordshire went from the worst county council in the country to a good rated organisation in less than three years, which newspapers have dubbed as one of the fastest turnarounds in local government history.”