Partygate investigator Sue Gray can start working as chief of staff of the Labour Party from September, six months after resigning from the civil service, Whitehall’s appointments watchdog has said.
Gray—who led an investigation into allegations of parties being held in Downing Street in breach of the COVID-19 lockdown rules—accepted a job offer from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer in March.
The move prompted claims from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Conservative MPs that she was politically biased and her Partygate report was tarnished.
The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) said on Friday that it “shared some of the concerns” raised by government departments over the potential risk to the civil service’s integrity her move to Labour poses.
But it said it had seen “no evidence” that her decision making or impartiality was “impaired” while serving in Whitehall.
ACOBA said a waiting period of six months until Gray takes up her position as Labour’s chief of staff would be “proportionate” to mitigate potential risks.
Starmer said he had accepted ACOBA’s advice and is “delighted” to be welcoming Gray as his chief of staff.
Concerns Over Impartiality
Gray said Starmer raised the possibility of joining his team when he called her in late October 2022, according to the ACOBA document.“She said she might be open to such a possibility if she were to leave the Civil Service,” it added.
But she told the team there was no formal job offer until March 2, which was the day she resigned.
Government departments flagged that the “unprecedented circumstances under which Ms. Gray left her role” had led to “commentary in public and in Parliament which questions the impartiality and integrity of the Civil Service.”
The departments told ACOBA: “The proposed employment risks lowering public trust in the Civil Service.
‘Proportionate’
In its advice, ACOBA said: “The committee shared some of the concerns raised by Ms. Gray’s former departments about the potential risk to the integrity of the civil service. There has been no evidence provided to the committee that Ms. Gray’s decision making or ability to remain impartial was impaired whilst she remained in her civil service role.“Given the lack of commercial risk, and the limited scope for undue influence, the committee determined that twice the standard waiting period would be proportionate to mitigate the risks identified, providing a clear break of six months before Ms. Gray takes up the role.”
The watchdog said it considers a period of three times or four times the normal waiting period to be “disproportionate.”
Commenting on the decision, the Labour leader said: “I’m delighted that Sue Gray will be joining Labour as my chief of staff.
“Sue will lead our work preparing for a mission-led Labour government. She brings unrivalled experience on how the machinery of government works and is a woman of great integrity.
“Should we be privileged enough to be elected, Sue will ensure we’re able to hit the ground running. I look forward to her starting.”
Starmer said Labour has followed the ACOBA process and accepted its advice.
The Cabinet Office will publish a report on whether Gray broke the Civil Service code in her communications with Labour, but no retrospective punishment will be possible if she is found to have done so.
