Two months after leaving government, Sue Gray is still causing headaches for ministers. The partygate inquisitor is back in the news following her refusal to cooperate with a Cabinet Office probe into her shock defection to the Starmtroopers as Sir Keir’s chief of staff. Unwilling to answer questions to an official government inquiry? What would the Sue Gray of 2021 make of that…
Attention therefore switches to the second investigation being conducted by ACOBA into Gray’s defection. This, Labour says, ought to be the real inquiry because ACOBA is an independent body, exempt from the machinations of those beastly Tories. They are expected to make a recommendation on Gray’s appointment by the summer, with ministers pressing for a ‘cooling off’ period of up to two years. In the interim Mr S has helpfully compiled a list of the three questions which Labour ought to answer as we wait, once again, for a report concerning Sue Gray…
When did Labour first approach her?
Starmer has repeatedly refused to say when he and Gray spoke about a potential job with Labour while she was working in government. He told LBC on March 6 that the dates of when the pair spoke about a job offer are ‘going to be laid out by Sue … as part of her leaving procedure.’ Two months on, such dates still have not materialised. Ministers say the Cabinet Office inquiry is where they should have been declared.
Starmer sacked his previous chief of staff in October and is reported to have opened discussions with Gray in November. She remained as Second Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office until news of the appointment leaked in March.
What did she discuss with Labour?
Government claims that Gray broke the civil service code are based on the directory of civil service guidance which says that contacts between civil servants and leading members of opposition parties should be cleared with ministers. However, it remains something of a – ba dum tish – grey area, with Alex Thomas of the Institute for Government suggesting that the civil service code itself does not ban any contacts with the opposition.
He told the Times that ‘The context is about policy, government operations and is mostly about government information. You could argue that it was about government-relevant contacts rather than all personal contacts and certainly the practice has not been to ban personal contacts between civil servants and the opposition.’ The question then becomes: what did Gray discuss with Labour and to whom exactly has she been speaking?
Will they abide by ACOBA’s ruling?
Labour sources are briefing that the Cabinet Office represented little more than a ‘political gimmick’ and point to ACOBA being the REAL investigation. All well and good: but what happens if ACOBA comes back and recommends a lengthy suspension of anywhere up to two years? Starmer will want his chief of staff in place at least six months before an election to prepare for government. That either means November 2023 or April 2024, depending on whether the Tories go for a spring or autumn election. That would likely hinder Labour’s transition planning.
Following a lengthy back and forth at last week’s hacks’ briefing, Starmer’s spokesman said that Labour would abide by whatever the judgment was. But if ACOBA do recommend a lengthy waiting period, will Labour then ignore it if they feel it’s nothing more than a politicised Tory stitch up? And where would that leave the likes of Angela Rayner and Anneliese Dodds, both of whom have waxed lyrical in recent years about the importance of strengthening ACOBA.
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