Iceland's president says he will donate his pay rise to charity

'I'm not Mother Theresa. I don't need to brag about such things'

Gudni Johannesson said he had not sought a pay rise, nor did he need one (Reuters)

Iceland's president has said he will not accept a monthly salary increase of nearly 20 per cent and will instead give the money to a charity.

Gudni Johannesson told reporters: "I did not ask for this pay rise. I knew nothing about this pay rise. I do not need this pay rise."

Instead, he said he will donate the extra 600,000 krona (£4,350) he receives each month.

When asked where the money would go, he replied: "I'm not Mother Theresa. I don't need to brag about such things."

The recent pay rise gave all MPs an increase in their monthly salaries of around 300,000 krona (£2,170), while the prime minister and president were given a raise of twice that amount.

After the pay rise, MPs' pay will have increased by 75 per cent in three years, according to Iceland Magazine.

The increase was made in order to bring MPs pay in line with district judges, as it was before 2009, Iceland Monitor reports.

The move drew condemnation from the anti-establishment Pirate Party which said the pay rise would increase mistrust amongst the public.

The national Kjararad commission, tasked with setting public service salaries, announced the pay rise, saying: "It is very important that the elected members are financially independent and dependent on no one.

"Their work has no clear parallel on the work market, as they are elected for their jobs in general elections and have to renew their mandate at least every four years."

But Pirate Party co-founder Birgitta Jonsdottir urged MPs to reject the pay rise to gain public confidence.

"If all parliamentarians reject these raises to show clearly that they are concerned about stability in the work market, it will be a clear message to the public that we will not help create a gap between the parliament and the public," Ms Jonsdottir said on Facebook.

"It is necessary to build social trust in times when there are waves of discontent within the work market."