Could Sue Gray prove to be the Erling Haaland of the civil service?

Like the Manchester City striker, she has run rings around her opponents, says Sean O’Grady

The former civil servant has been offered a role by Keir Starmer (PA)

Until a few days ago, government sources were briefing friendly newspapers about a supposedly devastating Cabinet Office report on Sue Gray’s resignation after it emerged she was intending to take up a senior role with Labour. Instead, it was left to Oliver Dowden, deputy prime minister and Cabinet Office secretary, to solemnly tell MPs: “In order to maintain confidentiality towards an individual former employee, I am unable at this stage to provide further information relating to the departure of Ms Gray whilst we consider next steps.”

With beans firmly unspilled, Dowden highlighted the Civil Service Management Code requirements for senior staff, including that “contacts between senior civil servants and leading members of the opposition parties … should … be cleared with … ministers”.

So what happened to the Cabinet Office investigation?

It collapsed. It seems civil service chief Simon Case, once a colleague of Gray, talked ministers out of publishing their full report over legal concerns, which in turn derived from a lack of basic information thanks to Gray’s refusal to engage. Probably shrewdly, she detected that the Cabinet Office investigation had no legal powers and no particular standing, and had a political aspect – a stunt designed to attack Labour, and her personal integrity. Even smarter, she saw that she was under no legal or even moral duty to help her former colleagues destroy her reputation and that, without evidence from her or Starmer, there would be no investigation worthy of the name.

In the end, Case regarded the internal probe as a gimmick, and effectively killed it. He might also have had an eye to the future; should Labour win the next election, and bring Gray into No 10, Case will need a working relationship with her more than she needs one with him.

What is Sue Gray accused of?

Breaking the civil service code – for example, by allegedly having unauthorised conversations with the leader of the opposition. Tory ministers are suspicious that she could have passed on confidential information about the inside of government, including her own Partygate investigation, and Boris Johnson’s behaviour during the pandemic. Johnson’s allies claim that Gray’s Partygate report was biased and devalued because of her supposed treachery with Starmer. They even argue that the privileges committee inquiry into whether Johnson lied to parliament should be abandoned because it is relying on Gray’s report; the committee counters that it has gathered its own evidence and can make its own mind up.

Is Gray ‘guilty’?

This remains unclear, given the lack of input that led to the squib of Dowden’s statement. She’s saying nothing, and Starmer will only declare: “I had no discussions with her whilst she was investigating Boris Johnson whatsoever…I’m confident she hasn’t broken any of the rules.” He refuses to say when he first approached her about a possible job. While they are keeping schtum about dates, Sky News reports the first communication between them came after the publication of her report, in May 2022, but during attempts by MPs to secure information about her probe. There is some added poignancy in that Starmer cultivates an image of rectitude, and has been called Mr Rules by his deputy Angela Rayner. Gray, meanwhile, was head of civil service propriety and ethics for some years.

Faults, if there were any, will now be properly assessed by the independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba). Gray would be well-advised to cooperate with this body, which does have the power to delay her taking up any post with Labour for up to two years. The irony is that the chief of staff role in Downing Street is more administrative than front-line political, and more akin to a conventional civil service role than a partisan political one. But recent events suggest that Gray is a deeply skilled apparatchik, clever, and well able to look out for herself and run rings around her enemies. Most of all, she is unusually gifted in bending the machinery of government to desired ends. In fact, some call her the Erling Haaland of the civil service. It will be interesting to see where the future takes her.

What does the prime minister say?

Rishi Sunak’s press secretary briefed lobby journalists that: “The prime minister is not obviously involved in this process, but it is obviously disappointing that Sue Gray was offered to cooperate and has chosen not to do so. I think what is more disappointing is that Keir Starmer is in a position where he could clear up very quickly when contact was made by his office, or by him, to Sue Gray, to uphold the integrity of the civil service and ensure it is transparent and open.”

The whiff of a crafty fox escaping Tory hounds just before English local election day is unmistakable.