Rishi Sunak slams Sue Gray snub for probe into her Keir Starmer job
Rishi Sunak has slammed Sue Gray for refusing to cooperate with a probe into the ex-senior civil servant touchdown the job of Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of employees.
No10 mentioned Ms Gray’s choice to snub the Cabinet Office investigation into her exit from Whitehall was “disappointing”.
Ministers have additionally warned that Sir Keir has critical inquiries to reply over her refusal to assist with the inquiry.
Mr Sunak’s press secretary mentioned: “The Prime Minister is not obviously involved in this process but it is obviously disappointing that Sue Gray was offered to cooperate and has chosen not to do so.
“I think what is more disappointing is that Keir Starmer is in a position where he could clear up very quickly when contact was made by his office, or by him, to Sue Gray, to uphold the integrity of the civil service and ensure that it is transparent and open.”
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Security minister Tom Tugendhat mentioned he was “surprised” the Labour chief was “not asking the person he nominated to cooperate with the civil service body that’s investigating”.
Labour has accused the Government of pursuing a “vendetta” towards Ms Gray due to her function within the authentic Partygate investigation.Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor, labelled the Cabinet Office investigation a “political gimmick” and mentioned Ms Gray was cooperating absolutely with the “normal process” for scrutinising new jobs for ex-civil servants run by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.
Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden mentioned the Government will “consider next steps”.
He mentioned the Government has submitted a “confidential assessment” to the anti-corruption watchdog Acoba, which can advocate a cooling-off interval between three months and two years to keep away from any battle of curiosity.
But he stopped wanting saying whether or not the Cabinet Office deemed her to have damaged any guidelines by speaking to the Opposition a few potential place whereas she was working in Government.
Dave Penman, chief of the FDA union which represents senior Whitehall employees, tweeted: “It is no surprise that Sue Gray has decided to focus on engaging with the independent, evidence-based Acoba investigation, rather than deal with an investigation that is mired in the politics of the day.”
Sir Keir has insisted he was “confident” Ms Gray has not damaged any guidelines. The Labour chief mentioned he “had no discussions with her while she was investigating Boris Johnson”.