Keir Starmer vows to ignore savage report claiming Partygate probe civil servant Sue Gray broke Whitehall rules by holding talks about working for Labour and could have been sacked if she had not resigned
- The Opposition leader suggested that the Cabinet Office inquiry did not matter
- Has previously agreed to abide by the ruling of a separate Acoba investigation
Sir Keir Starmer today vowed to ignore a highly critical report into the way he hired a top civil servant behind a Partygate investigation to work for the Labour party.
The Opposition leader suggested that the savage Cabinet Office inquiry did not matter and said he would ‘put that on one side’.
The leaked report revealed Ms Gray ‘fell short’ of both the civil service code and her job contract when she was in talks about becoming Sir Keir’s new chief of staff.
It found she should have declared any potential conflicts of interest when approached by the Opposition – and could have been sacked had she not dramatically quit when her planned move was revealed in March.
Sir Keir has previously agreed to abide by the ruling of a separate investigation by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba).
This morning he questioned the importance of the Cabinet Office document, saying its authors had not approached him or Ms Gray for their version of events.
‘I don’t know where that has come from, I don’t know who wrote it, I haven’t seen it, I haven’t been asked to contribute towards it,’ he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
‘So I would actually put that on one side. The committee that matters is the committee that has been in place, that makes a decision on whether someone coming out of the Civil Service can take up another job.
‘That committee is in the process of making its decision, that is the only decision that actually matters.’
it emerged that top civil servant Sue Gray allegedly broke Whitehall rules by holding secret discussions about working for Starmer
The Cabinet Office inquiry said Gray should have declared any potential conflicts of interest when approached by the Opposition
The Cabinet Office report stated: ‘Sue 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 arose.
‘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 Sue Gray fell short of these expectations and as a result acted in breach of the civil service code as well as her contractual obligations.’
It went on: ‘We cannot make any certain conclusions about what a disciplinary process would have found as one has not been undertaken as a result of Sue Gray’s resignation with immediate effect.
‘Given her seniority, and the need for ministers to have confidence in their permanent secretaries, and the requirement not to bring the civil service into disrepute, there would have been a reasonable case for immediate suspension during any disciplinary action.’
The report, seen by The Sunday Telegraph, added: ‘Had a charge of gross misconduct been upheld, she would likely have been summarily dismissed.’
Home Office minister Chris Philp commented: ‘Presumably this means Sir Keir will no longer be hiring her, given his claims to high moral standards.’
Ms Gray is separately expected to be found in breach of the business appointment rules which require departing senior civil servants to ask permission from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) before taking up a new role.
Labour is still waiting to find out when Ms Gray – who carried out the first investigation into Partygate last year – will be allowed to work for the party and could be required to endure several more months of gardening leave when Acoba gives its verdict.
Sir Keir was thought to be keen to have Ms Gray on board to help his party’s preparations for the general election, which is expected to take place in the autumn of next year, and to smooth transition arrangements with Whitehall for a possible Labour government.
Sir Keir has previously said he is confident Ms Gray did not break any rules in talking to his party about a job.
The FDA trade union for senior civil servants claims there has been ‘no conclusion’ yet as to whether or not she broke any rules.
