Sue Gray – whose report into Partygate contributed to the downfall of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister – breached Whitehall impartiality rules when she took up a leading role with Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, an official inquiry has reported.
Had she not resigned to become Mr Starmer’s chief of staff in the Labor Party, she could have faced being suspended from her role in the Civil Service, or even fired.
The findings will cause outrage among diehard supporters of Mr Johnson, who last week quit as an MP in the wake of a damning report from the Commons Select Committee of Privileges, which came to the verdict that he deliberately misled parliament about illegal parties held at his Downing Street office during lockdowns during the Covid pandemic.
READ MORE: New Partygate video shows raucous booze-up as Tories seen mocking lockdown laws
It will also raise questions about the Leader of the Opposition’s judgment, especially when compared to his persistent accusations of sleaze leveled at the Conservative Party. The Cabinet Office inquiry, signed off by the Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, found that Ms Gray had fallen short of the standards required by the Civil Service Code and her contract of employment, particularly at a time when she was apparently in talks with Sir Keir about joining Labor as chief of staff.
The revelation will embarrass Ms Gray, a former head of government propriety and ethics, and will pave the way for Conservative MPs to question again whether Mr Starmer’s appointment of Ms Gray had undermined the Civil Service’s own rules about impartiality.
A report published by The Telegraph said that the internal Cabinet Office document had been written by Darren Tierney, one of Ms Gray’s successors as a director-general of propriety in Whitehall, and marked “official” and “sensitive”.
The inquiry was launched after fellow civil servants and ministers raised questions about her decision to leave the Civil Service to take up the chief of staff job at Labour’s central office. Senior officials were said to have been concerned that the move would bring the Civil Service into disrepute.
According to the newspaper, in the document dated April 27, Mr Tierney said that Ms Gray’s contract, “as with all permanent secretary contracts, was clear on the conduct expected of her, including with regard to declaring any conflicts as they arise. The Civil Service Code outlines the requirement on all civil servants to conduct themselves with integrity, openness, and impartiality.
“During the period in question, it is my view that [Ms Gray] fell short of these expectations and as a result acted in breach of the Civil Service Code as well as her contractual obligations.
“This is a position on which I have consulted Sarah Healey [permanent secretary of the Department for Levelling Up], the Cabinet Secretary, the Treasury Solicitor and HR colleagues; all of whom are in agreement with these conclusions and the underpinning analysis.”
The FDA, the Civil Service union that has been representing Ms Gray, maintained her denial that she breached neither the Ministerial Code nor her employment contract. Mr Starmer has always maintained that he was “confident she hasn’t broken any of the rules”.
The Telegraph reported that Ms Gray had refused to cooperate with the internal inquiry and Dave Penman, the FDA’s general secretary, insisted it was his understanding that there was “no conclusion”.
Ms Gray was expected to join Labor as Sir Keir’s most senior aide from the autumn, having originally been approached last October. At that time, her government role was as second permanent secretary at the Department for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities. It is understood that she will only start work as Labor chief of staff after taking six months of “gardening leave” from the Civil Service, leave which began in March.
The disclosure raises fresh questions about Ms Gray’s involvement in the investigations into Covid rule-breaking by Mr Johnson and other Conservative figures. While at the Department for Leveling Up, she was commissioned by Mr Johnson to lead an inquiry into allegations of rule-breaking in Downing Street – a decision the former prime minister has since suggested was a mistake, because of subsequent doubts about her “independence”. .
In his report, Mr. Tierney added that he could not say what disciplinary action might have been taken against her because she had already resigned from the Civil Service. But given her seniority he believed there would have been good grounds for “immediate suspension”.
He added: “Had a charge of gross misconduct been upheld, she would likely have been summarily dismissed.”
Just weeks ago, Jeremy Quin, the Cabinet Office minister, said in an address to the Commons about the appointment of Ms Gray: “Many across the House have noticed that the Leader of the Opposition has a tendency to claim a self-righteous monopoly on morals, but there are now serious questions as to whether Labour, by acting fast and loose, undermined the rules and the impartiality of the Civil Service.”
Last month, Mr Starmer said he’d “had no discussions with her whilst she was investigating Boris Johnson whatever”.
On Saturday, a Labor spokesperson said that the party had always complied with the official processes of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which provides advice on applications from senior civil servants who wish to leave office to take up roles outside of government.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson told The Telegraph: “We do not comment on private individuals.”