Sue Gray stays silent over claims she broke Civil Service code

The Government has implied former senior civil servant Sue Gray broke the civil service code when holding conferences with Labour over a brand new job with Sir Keir Starmer. In a Commons assertion, Cabinet Office Secretary Oliver Dowden reveals that Sue Gray refused to make representations as a part of the Government investigation, staying silent about when she held conferences with the Labour Party.

Today’s Government assertion raises the suggestion that Ms Gray, who reportedly threw the e book at civil servants who broke the code, could have didn’t adjust to it herself.

The publication cites Civil Service guidelines, which say “contacts between senior civil servants and leading members of the Opposition parties… should… be cleared with… Ministers.”

The Telegraph has reported that on the time she entered into the job negotiations with the opposition, she was nonetheless working within the Cabinet Office’s Propriety and Ethics Team, which was advising the MP privileges committee investigating Boris Johnson.

Today’s intervention will heap extra stress on Sir Keir Starmer to scrap Ms Gray’s appointment as his Chief of Staff.

The Labour chief failing to again down may nonetheless end in Ms Gray being banned from taking over the appointment till after the following General Election, nevertheless.

The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACoBA) is at present adjudicating on Ms Gray’s leap from the Civil Service to celebration politics, and can suggest how lengthy she should wait earlier than taking the job.

Insiders anticipate the physique to advise a protracted “cooling off” interval, which may last as long as two years earlier than she can be allowed to affix Sir Keir’s workplace, leaving him and not using a Chief of Staff till after the 2024 General Election.

The goal of the “cooling off” interval to is minimise potential – or perceived conflicts of curiosity. It’s usually used to stop these in authorities from utilizing inside information to their benefit in a brand new job.

The Deputy Prime Minister’s assertion stated “The impartiality and perceived impartiality of the Civil Service is constitutionally vital to the conduct of government”.

“Ministers must be able to speak to their officials from a position of absolute trust, so it is the responsibility of everyone in this House to preserve and support the impartiality of the civil service.”

Mr Dowden’s Cabinet Office has made submissions to ACoBA, together with a “confidential assessment”.

They hope that their submission will encourage the advisory physique to suggest a prolonged interval Ms Gray should await taking over the function of Sir Keir’s Chief of Staff.

This morning Sir Keir desperately tried to deflect questions in regards to the Sue Gray row, claiming the Government intentionally timed at this time’s Cabinet Office assertion in an try and divert consideration away from the price of residing disaster forward of the native elections this week

Speaking on BBC Breakfast at this time, Sir Keir stated: “I had no discussions with her while she was investigating Boris Johnson, whatsoever.

“Actually at this time there may be nothing a lot new about this and I’m afraid with 48 hours to the election, what is going on on is the federal government is attempting to resurrect a narrative about Sue Gray, primarily as a result of they do not wish to speak about the price of residing disaster, which most individuals wish to speak about.”

Sir Keir added: “I’m confident that she hasn’t broken any of the rules”.

“Whenever a senior civil servant leaves the civil service there may be at all times a course of they need to undergo earlier than they take up one other job.”

Mr Dowden’s statement promised a further update on the appointment “sooner or later” as the Government now “take into account subsequent steps”.