London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Partygate probe chief Sue Gray offered top job by Labour leader Starmer

Partygate probe chief Sue Gray offered top job by Labour leader Starmer

Senior civil servant Sue Gray, who investigated lockdown gatherings in Downing Street, has been offered a job as Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff.

A Labour spokesman said Sir Keir was "delighted" that "she hopes to accept the role subject to the normal procedures".

But allies of Boris Johnson reacted with anger to the news.

Former minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said Ms Gray's Partygate conclusions now looked "like a left-wing stitch up".

"So much for an impartial Civil Service, the Gray report now looks like a left-wing stitch up against a Tory prime minister," the former business secretary and Brexit opportunities minister tweeted.

Ms Gray herself has yet to comment.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: "We can confirm that Sue Gray has resigned from the post of Second Permanent Secretary in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). This was accepted by the department Permanent Secretary and Cabinet Secretary with immediate effect.

"We will not be commenting further on individual personnel matters. We are reviewing the circumstances under which she resigned."

Under the civil service code, officials of Ms Gray's seniority must wait a minimum of three months before taking up outside employment.

The move will be scrutinised by the anti-corruption watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which will advise the prime minister on whether the move is "unsuitable".

Rishi Sunak will make a final ruling, but does not have the power to block an appointment.


'Failures of leadership'


Ms Gray went from an influential but little-known arbiter of conduct in government to a household name.

Her report on the Partygate scandal last year contributed to Mr Johnson's downfall as prime minister, prompting numerous Conservative MPs to call on him to resign.

She criticised "failures of leadership and judgment" in No 10 and said "the senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility".

Separately, Mr Johnson received one of 126 fines issued by the Metropolitan Police while it investigated gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall.

Hearings in an inquiry by the Commons Privileges Committee into opposition claims Mr Johnson misled MPs about what he knew about the lockdown gatherings in government buildings are expected to begin in the coming weeks.

Other key allies of Mr Johnson have been quick to comment.

Former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries tweeted that Ms Gray's reported move to Sir Keir's office was "not surprising".

"Whilst writing report, she used QC who tweeted out pro Labour anti gov [government] tweets whilst Alistair Campbell heaped praise upon her. Her comms [communications] assistant briefed against Johnson from day 1.

"The Gray report was a stitch up of PM and CSs [civil servants]," she said.

Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith said he was "genuinely shocked", and accused Sir Keir of having "scant regard for the public image of the civil service and the damage this will do".

"After the events of last year, people will quite understandably be questioning the appropriateness of this appointment, including issues of impartiality," he added.

Former civil servant Alex Thomas, who now works for the Institute for Government think tank, said the move would be "difficult for the civil service", giving its "critics a stick".

"Tricky development for those defending impartiality," he added.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
×