Sir Keir Starmer stops for ice cream while campaigning for local elections. The latest events will be an unpleasant distraction for him. Photo: Peter Byrne/Pennsylvania.
Sue Gray held secret talks with Sir Keir Starmer while serving on the team advising Commons on the partygate investigation, report says.
Former senior civil servant to become Labor leader's chief of staff pending results of two inquiries into her negotiating with Sir Keir and whether they violated the rules of Whitehall.
A Cabinet report on Tuesday is expected to indicate that she entered into negotiations with Labor while working with the ministry's Decency and Ethics Team (PET). At the time, the team was advising MPs on the privileges committee investigating the Boris Johnson case, which Tory sources said on Monday constitutes a conflict of interest.
Jeremy Quinn, Treasurer General, will submit a written statement to Commons on Tuesday with updated information on the findings of the report.
The long-awaited findings will put strong pressure on Sir Keir not to confirm Ms Grey's appointment.
The Labor leader stressed his personal integrity as part of his bid to become the next Prime Minister.
However, The Telegraph reported on growing concern within the government that he may have been in secret negotiations with other senior government officials.
A Whitehall source said of Ms Gray: “She played a role in influencing and guiding very important government decisions. Nobody knew about this, and there were serious concerns, given the kind of work she was doing.»
Sue Gray advised MPs in the privileges committee investigating the case against Boris Johnson. Credit: AFP
PET was responsible for liaising with the privileges committee about what evidence could be released to investigate whether Johnson misled the House of Commons over the partygate.
< p>The Telegraph understands that Ms Gray was part of the team until news of her talks with Labor broke in early March, despite the fact that she had moved to Continuing Education last September.
B her duties included advising on public appointments, including potential conflicts of interest, and setting up independent panels to conduct interviews.
Negotiations between Ms Gray and Sir Keir are believed to have begun in November, with the government still presenting evidence to the privileges committee.
A Labor Party source insisted that the party's new chief of staff had no involvement in PET's work on the investigation while she was in contact with its leader.
>Ms Gray came to public attention by leading the original Whitehall investigation into Downing Street lockdown-breaking parties.
< p>Her report, presented last May, denounced the culture on Downing Street and ultimately played a pivotal role. role in Johnson's downfall.
Mrs Gray's report at the Downing Street meetings helped bring down Johnson. PA
Mr. Quin's update will form the basis of a submission the ministry will make to the oversight body for second jobs, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba).
A body chaired by the former Conservative Cabinet. Minister Lord Pickles, will suggest how long Ms Gray should wait before taking up employment with the Labor Party. for a year or more, given the unprecedented nature of the case. Sir Keir said he would comply with his recommendation.
Peter Riddell, a former public appointments commissioner, said he expected Akoba to offer a «substantial reprieve» as an «act of reassurance» to ministers.
«I think a period that could possibly last until the end of the year would be reasonable at this point,» he told Times Radio on Monday.
«It may well be longer, because there are many strong feelings, not least among civil servants and ministers.»
The watchdog can recommend a maximum deliberation period of two years.
The row comes at a bad time for the Labor leader as he heads to the local elections on Thursday looking to make big gains on the Conservatives.
On Monday, Sir Keir dodged questions on the matter during a visit to a local campaign in Blackpool instead saying: «Sue Gray has an amazing track record and it's clear the process is well underway.»
The Labor leader was in Blackpool with his Shadow Education Minister Bridget Phillipson on Monday, campaigning ahead of local elections. Photo: Peter Byrne/Pennsylvania.
«Now it appears that Sue Gray may have pandered to Labor during a crucial period when she was in charge of propriety and ethics and the privileges committee process,» a Conservative source said.
«The term «conflict of interest» does not comply with this rule. Increasingly, it appears that Boris Johnson has been wired into a long-running and multi-layered conspiracy that is now unraveling.» Peter Bone, Conservative MP for Wellingborough, said more to worry about perceived conflicts of interest.
“To put it mildly, it is unusual that a high-ranking civil servant can negotiate with an opposition leader to become his chief of staff.
«This obviously raises serious questions about Sue Gray's position, but also about the position of leader of the Labor Party.»
Sue Gray defended
Labor Party sources insist that Mr. Ms Gray is not directly responsible for advising the privileges committee. .
The source said: «The Privilege Committee made their own requests for information and they went to the cabinet and it was up to the ethics and decency team to decide how to respond and what to disclose.»
«They reported directly to Simon Case [Cabinet Secretary] and ministers. It didn't involve Sue Gray.»
The source also dismissed allegations that Sir Keir had unannounced meetings with other senior government officials, calling them «nonsense.»
“All the meetings he had with government officials were official briefings to which he was invited on issues such as Covid, Ukraine and national security,” they said.
Mr Case was reported to personally involved in a proposal to ban Ms Gray from holding office in the Labor Party for at least a year. According to the Guardian, Ms Gray's allies believe she is the target of a «political witch hunt» designed to pressure Akoba to delay her appointment.
Ms Gray resigned from public service immediately after news of her upcoming appointment was cut short on March 2.
Four days later, Mr Quinn ordered Cabinet to investigate the «unprecedented» move, saying he acknowledged » concerns,” voiced by MPs.
In his then statement to the House of Commons, he said that her actions would be assessed for compliance with the civil service code of conduct, including impartiality.
It states that civil servants must always “act in a manner that deserves and retains the confidence of ministers.”
The Code also provides that “contacts between high-ranking civil servants and leading members of opposition parties… must… be coordinated with… ministers.”
< p>It was reported that Ms Gray would be found in breach of both counts because she negotiated with Labor, which she did not declare, while advising ministers on sensitive issues.
A privileges committee spokesman said his investigation was based on evidence provided in November by the government, including WhatsApp messages, emails and photographs, and not on Ms Gray's account of Downing Street parties.
He said the investigation heard evidence from witnesses «who were present either during the meetings or during the preparation of Boris Johnson's parliamentary statements,» adding that «Sue Gray was not present at any of these witnesses. and is not one of them.»
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