A top Tory has dismissed calls from singer Dua Lipa for a decent pay rise for NHS heroes.
The 25-year-old artist used a Brit Awards acceptance speech on Tuesday to pile pressure on Boris Johnson to offer a fair pay boost to frontline staff.
But Environment Secretary George Eustice said there was a "difficult public finance environment" and the Government "can't always go as far as you'd like" on NHS pay.
Ministers have been under pressure over their measly 1% pay offer, which is being considered by the NHS Pay Review Body.
Winning both best female solo artist and best album at the Brits, Lipa used her first speech to call for an NHS pay rise and her second to demand a posthumous bravery award for 20-year-old Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole, who died after jumping into the River Thames to save a woman.
She said: "It's very good to clap for them, but we need to pay them.
"I think what we should do is we should all give a massive, massive round of applause and give Boris (Johnson) a message that we all support a fair pay rise for our front line."
Mr Eustice was challenged over the issue the next morning.
He told BBC Breakfast: "There's been a pay rise, it was announced. There's been a pay freeze for most of the public sector and it's also important to recognise that in recent years that there have been some pay rises as well, particularly for nurses and the lower paid.
"We know that it is a difficult public finance environment as well, so we can't always go as far as you'd like but it's also the case that there's also a pay review that's going on into the NHS."
Pressed on whether the 1% plan would amount to a pay cut, he said: "If it's lower than inflation then yes the way people would say in real terms, it's not an increase.
"But it is an increase in cash terms and that is, as I say, one of the few areas of the public sector that has seen such an increase."
The PM's official spokesman said: "We are in a difficult economic situation due to the pandemic and have implemented a public sector wide pay freeze for all but the lowest paid workers.
"We recognise NHS staff have gone above and beyond over the past so we have exempted them.
"There's now work for the independent pay review body to do so I don't want to pre-empt that but we will carefully consider their recommendations."
The Brit Awards featured an audience of 4,000 people and took place as part of the Government's live events pilot scheme.
Audience members were not socially distanced or required to wear face coverings once seated for the indoor ceremony.
But they had to provide proof of a negative Covid test to enter the venue.
