A Cabinet Office investigation has said Sue Gray apparently breached the civil service code by discussing a role with Keir Starmer without telling her Whitehall bosses, prompting a vehement fightback by Gray’s allies, who said the inquiry was arbitrary and politically motivated.
Jeremy Quin, a Cabinet Office minister, said a civil inquiry found a “prima facie” breach of the code about outside interests to be clear and transparent – meaning an apparent contravention of the rules based on first impressions.
Gray was approached by the Labour leader about a possible role in October 2022 and had a conversation about it on the phone. She told the Cabinet Office about this in March 2023 when it became public that she might be offered a job as Starmer’s chief of staff, and subsequently resigned on deciding to take the position.
Last week, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) said it had been given no evidence that Gray breached the code, although this was a matter for the government to decide.
Quin said in a written ministerial statement on Monday that the civil service findings suggested a breach had occurred. He said individuals must declare all relevant outside interests to their line manager as soon as they arose.
A Whitehall source said the Cabinet Office had advised against making public the finding that Gray had breached the code because staffing matters should be kept confidential, but that ministers had made a political decision to put it in the public domain.
Separately, the Guardian has seen a letter to Sarah Healey, the head civil servant at the levelling up department, who was Gray’s line manager when she departed, from Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA, the union which represents senior officials.
In the letter, sent in April, Penman said the union had written three times in less than three weeks trying to discover basic details about the investigation into Gray, including the process used, who would make the decision, and the mechanism for any appeal, all without success.
“You cannot undertake such an investigation without proper procedure,” he wrote. “Despite all of our requests, you have not only refused to indicate which process you are following but you have failed to even address the lack of this in any of your letters.”
Penman also accused ministers of extending the remit of the inquiry beyond what had been promised, which he said was to just look into the circumstances of Gray’s departure.
Public findings into personnel matters concerning individual civil servants are very rarely aired in public, a point acknowledged by both Quin and Downing Street.
In his statement, Quin said: “It is right that we maintain the principle of confidentiality with respect to individual personnel matters. However, I am sure the house will agree with me that the facts in this case, when compared to the rules and guidance in place for civil servants, speak for themselves, and that there is a public interest in ensuring that the civil service code is adhered to.”
Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said: “Given the public interest in this and the unprecedented nature of a serving permanent secretary being offered a role with the opposition, the minister committed to updating the house.”
Jonathan Jones, a former Treasury solicitor for the government, said he was not surprised civil servants had suggested not publishing the investigation.
“The statement says the rules are ‘clear’ and ‘the facts speak for themselves’. But nothing is proved (a ‘prima facie’ case only). Is it really clear that the rules apply to informal/personal contacts, not about government business, but about a possible future job?” he said.
“Acoba has approved the appointment. They received no evidence that government business was discussed, or that there was any effect on Sue Gray’s impartiality while she remained in government service.”
A Labour spokesperson called the announcement “a political stunt”.
The spokesperson said: “It says everything you need to know about the Tories that they have spent weeks wasting time on this Mickey Mouse nonsense, while refusing to investigate the serious allegations against their London mayoral hopeful Daniel Korski.
“We’re looking forward to Sue Gray joining us this September as we continue to show the country that only Labour can build a better Britain.”
