The senior British civil servant who oversaw the investigation into the “partygate” scandal during the Covid-19 pandemic is set to become the Labour party’s chief of staff.
Sue Gray quit her job in the Cabinet Office, where she was the second most senior civil servant, on Thursday, according to one government official.
A Labour party official confirmed Gray had been picked to become the main opposition party’s chief of staff. She will now go through the Whitehall screening process — carried out by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments — that all senior mandarins must undergo before taking on a job outside Whitehall.
Gray became a household name when she was asked to lead an investigation into allegations of parties in Whitehall during the Covid lockdowns when Boris Johnson was prime minister.
Her new role will involve readying Labour for government should it win the next general election, which is due to be held by January 2025. The Cabinet Office on behalf of Gray declined to comment as did the Labour party.
The desire by party leader Sir Keir Starmer to appoint an experienced Whitehall figure to the key role mirrors a move by Sir Tony Blair to bring in Jonathan Powell, a diplomat, as his chief of staff before the then party leader led Labour to a landslide general election victory in 1997.
With Labour 20 points ahead in the polls, Starmer wants to prepare the party for the possibility of forming the next government. After 13 years in opposition, most former ministers and advisers in the last Labour government are no longer on the front line of politics.
Gray was chosen to lead the partygate investigation because of her unblemished reputation as former director-general for propriety and ethics from 2012 to 2018.
Her report, published last year, found that there were 16 gatherings in Whitehall during lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 with “excessive consumption of alcohol”. The Metropolitan police later issued scores of fines to attendees at the illegal events.
Speaking before Gray’s resignation, Anneliese Dodds, chair of the Labour party, said: “We are finding very many people from a whole range of different walks of life who are now wanting to connect with the Labour party.”
On Monday, Starmer hosted a business roundtable with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves which was attended by senior business figures. The attendees included Tesco chair John Allan, Legal & General chief executive Nigel Wilson and Microsoft UK chief Clare Barclay.
Figures released on Thursday from the Electoral Commission showed Labour received £6mn from private donors in 2022, the highest figure outside a general election year since 2008. In the final quarter, the party raised £7.2mn in total donations, while the ruling Conservatives received £4.7mn over the same period.
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