Cabinet Office finds Partygate report author Sue Gray ‘broke civil service rules’ by not revealing talks with Keir Starmer before quitting Whitehall to become Labour leader’s chief of staff
- Cabinet Office finds the civil service code was ‘prima facie broken’ by Ms Gray
Partygate report author Sue Gray has been found by the Cabinet Office to have broken civil service rules for not revealing her contact with Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer.
The ex-senior civil servant caused a huge political row earlier this year when it was revealed she had been in talks about becoming Sir Keir’s chief of staff.
Ms Gray, who authored the Partygate report into Covid rule-breaking in Downing Street, was last week cleared by a watchdog to take up the Labour role in September.
But the Cabinet Office today found the civil service code was ‘prima facie broken’ by Ms Gray not declaring her discussions with Sir Keir to her Whitehall bosses or ministers.
Ms Gray was first approached by Sir Keir in late October last year but she did not resign her civil service role until 2 March, when news of her job offer from the Labour leader was publicly revealed.
She refused to cooperate with a subsequent Cabinet Office investigation into the circumstances of her departure from Whitehall.
Sue Gray caused a huge political row earlier this year when it was revealed she had been in talks about becoming Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff
Ms Gray, who authored the Partygate report into Covid rule-breaking in Downing Street , was last week cleared by a watchdog to take up her new role with Sir Keir in September
In a written statement to the House of Commons this morning, Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin wrote: ‘Given the exceptional nature of this case and the previous commitment by ministers to update the House, I can now confirm that the Cabinet Office process looking into the circumstances leading up to Ms Gray’s resignation has been concluded.
‘As part of the process, Ms Gray was given the opportunity to make representations but chose not to do so.
‘This process, led by the civil service, found that the civil service code was prima facie broken as a result of the undeclared contact between Ms Gray and the Leader of the Opposition.
‘The rules and guidance that govern the conduct of civil servants are clear and transparent.
‘It is deeply unfortunate that events have transpired in this way.
‘However, regardless of the details of this specific situation, I remain confident in the impartiality of our civil service and would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that it is the responsibility of everyone in this House to preserve and support this impartiality.’
On Friday, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) cleared Ms Gray to start as Sir Keir’s chief of staff as soon as September.
They advised she only needed to wait six months before joining Labour, with such a period providing a ‘clear break’ between her time as a top civil servant and her employment by Sir Keir.
Ms Gray quit her senior role at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in March when it was publicly revealed she had been offered a job by the Labour leader.
It means she will be free to join Sir Keir’s party in September, just before the party’s conference in Liverpool, following Acoba’s advice of a six-month waiting period from her last day in Whitehall on 2 March.
Labour branded today’s statement by Mr Quin as ‘Mickey Mouse nonsense’ and a ‘political stunt’ by the Tories.
‘All rules were complied with,’ a Labour spokesman said. ‘The Acoba process makes that clear.
‘This statement is a political stunt by a Tory government out of ideas and out of road.’
Ms Gray’s offer of employment by Labour caused a furious political row when it emerged earlier this year.
Allies of former prime minister Boris Johnson claimed her talks with Labour had made her Partygate conclusions look ‘like a left-wing stitch up’.
They also raised concerns about the ‘impartiality’ of Whitehall officials, while some Government figures had demanded Acoba impose a waiting period of a year before Ms Gray could join Labour.
Sir Keir has always maintained he’d had no contact while Ms Gray was conducting her inquiry into Downing Street parties.
No retrospective punishment will be possible now Ms Gray has left Whitehall.
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