Michael Gove says Sir Keir Starmer has questions to answer about Sue Grey. Photo: HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP
Michael Gove accused Sir Keir Starmer of “breaking” rules in connection with the appointment of party gate investigator Sue Grey.
The Advancement Secretary said the Labor leader claimed to be “a stickler for the rules”, but in fact he had questions to answer.
This comes after a Cabinet investigation found that Ms Grey, the former head of the Government's Decency and Ethics Service, had violated Whitehall's impartiality rules and could have been removed from office or fired if didn't quit.
An investigation first published in The Sunday Telegraph found that she “violated” the requirements of the Civil Service Code and her employment contract when she discreetly took part in negotiations to join the Labor Party as Sir Keir's chief of staff.
Asked about the report, Mr Gove said: “I think we needed to know the exact sequence of events when Keir Starmer 'confessed' to what he did.”
“I think what on Based on what we know, Keir Starmer, who claims to stick to the rules, has at least broken them.
Sir Keir Starmer insists that Labor followed the rules in appointing Sue Grey. Credit: Yui Mok/PA
“But then again, in the case of a final appointment, there are processes here, and I understand that these rules that determine whether it will be possible to make an appointment are followed. But again, it's Keir Starmer who has to answer.”
The FDA, the civil servants' union that represents Ms. Gray, said she denied violating the ministerial code or her employment contract.
>The Whitehall Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) is expected to issue a separate recommendation on how long she will have to wait before she can begin working with Sir Keir.
Sir Keir has been approached for comment. His spokesman previously said: “We are confident that no rules have been broken. We followed the Acoba process all the time.”
The appointment of Ms Gray caused such controversy because she was the one who ran the report on Boris Johnson's Downing Street parties during the lockdown, which ultimately led to his downfall.
Sue Gray will take over as COO Sir Keir in the fall. Credit: ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo
The Acoba Committee, chaired by Lord Pickles, may announce as early as this week.
She is expected to be able to start as COO Sir Keir in the autumn, six months after her departure in March.
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Mr Penman, who represented Ms Gray in negotiations with her former employers, said: . No conclusions were reached as to whether Sue Gray violated the Ministerial Code.
“It was agreed that the investigation would be suspended until the Akoba trial was completed. The investigation is pending, no evidence has been obtained from Sue, so this is just a guess.”
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