Desperate Tories cook up Sue Gray ‘dead cat’ row two days before local elections

Keir Starmer accused Rishi Sunak of attempting to stoke a row about his decision to hire the former government ethics chief as he has nothing to say about the cost of living crisis

Keir Starmer wants to hire Sue Gray to help him prepare for government (

Image: PA)

Keir Starmer has accused the Tories of desperately attempting to stoke a row about his decision to hire Sue Gray two days before the local elections.

The Labour leader warned ministers are “trying to resurrect” the saga over the government’s former ethics chief as they don’t have anything to say about the cost of living crisis.

Mr Starmer revealed in March that he wanted to appoint Ms Gray as his chief-of-staff as Labour prepares for the possibility of entering government.

The senior civil servant produced the Partygate report into lockdown-busting parties in No10 during the coronavirus lockdown when Boris Johnson was PM.

Mr Starmer today insisted he “had no discussions” with Ms Gray “while she was investigating Boris Johnson whatsoever”.

He told BBC Breakfast: “I’m confident she hasn’t broken any of the rules. Whenever a senior civil servant leaves the Civil Service there is always a process that they have to go through, that is the process she is going through, quite rightly.

Keir Starmer questioned the timing of the Cabinet Office investigation just days before local elections (

Image:

PA)

“The Government is trying to resurrect a story about Sue Gray, maybe because they don’t want to talk about the cost-of-living crisis, which actually is the thing that most people are most concerned about.”

Tory minister Jeremy Quin will publish an update this afternoon on a Cabinet Office investigation into the circumstances leading up to Ms Gray’s resignation.

The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) is also reviewing the terms of her departure and new job offer.

It can set recommendations for when senior people leave government, including calling for a cooling-off period to avoid any conflict of interest.

The Civil Service Code stipulates that officials of Ms Gray’s seniority must wait a minimum of three months before taking up outside employment.

But Acoba could recommend that it is a longer wait, with a maximum delay of up to two years.

Acoba does not have the power to block an appointment, however.

Labour has pledged to abide by any Acoba recommendation in relation to the hiring of Ms Gray.

Voters will go to the polls on Thursday in local elections when 8,141 council seats are up for grabs in 230 councils across England.

The Conservatives are expected to suffer losses as they are punished by the electorate for their botched running of the country.

A ‘dead cat’ is the political strategy of announcing something deliberately shocking to try to divert media attention.

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