Sue Gray faces an investigation into whether she should join the Labor Party as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff after she secretly opened negotiations with the opposition as a senior official.
Boris Johnson’s allies and Conservative MPs accused Ms Gray of undermining the credibility of her own Partygate report when she took over the Labor post.
Ms Grey, who has served in the civil service for decades, resigned with immediate effect on Thursday after news of her talks with Sir Keir was leaked.
Now she has requested permission from the watchdog who oversees the work of former ministers and senior mandarins to take on her new role. Rishi Sunak will have the final say, although it remains unclear if he can stop her from even taking the job.
Meanwhile, the cabinet began investigating the circumstances of her unexpected dismissal, fearing that none of her managers had been informed of the impending move.
A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Sue Gray has resigned from her position as Second Permanent Secretary in the Department of Alignment, Housing and Communities. This was immediately accepted by the Department Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary. We are not making any further announcements on individual personnel matters. We are looking into the circumstances under which she resigned.”
The Labor Party said in a statement: “The Labor Party has offered Sue Gray the role of Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Opposition. We understand that she is looking forward to accepting the role in accordance with normal procedures. Keir Starmer is delighted that she looks forward to joining us in our preparations for government and our mission to create a better Britain.”
Several Conservative MPs reacted angrily, while Mr Johnson’s financiers suggested that Ms Gray appeared politically motivated in writing a scathing report at the closing parties that catapulted her to national prominence.
A source close to the former prime minister said the validity of the investigation was “now completely undermined,” adding: “Partygate was a deliberate and fabricated plot to remove the pro-Brexit Conservative prime minister.”
Simon Clark, former Secretary of Leveling Up, added: “Sue Gray has a long history of public service, but given her pivotal role in the events of the past year, it will be quite a while before she assumes such an important political position. questions. Neutrality was at the core of their authority.” And Jacob Rees-Mogg said, “That’s too much for an unbiased civil service, the Gray Report now looks like a leftist indictment of a Conservative prime minister.”
Ms Gray indirectly criticized the former prime minister in her report for a “lack of leadership and judgment” during the pandemic, when the No. 10 headquarters and cabinet were allowed to hold public meetings at a time when the public was strictly forbidden to socialize. .
For several years she was head of government ethics, investigated the behavior of several ministers accused of wrongdoing, and also worked in the public service of Northern Ireland. Ms. Gray had never before taken a partisan political position.
Source: I News
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