Partygate sleuth Sue Gray can join Starmer's office after six-month wait

Partygate investigator Sue Gray has been cleared to start as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff after a six-month cooling off period from when she quit as a senior civil servant.

Whitehall’s appointments watchdog said on Friday it “shared some of the concerns” raised by Government departments over the potential risk to the Civil Service’s integrity her move to Labour poses.

But the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) said it had seen “no evidence” that her decision making or impartiality was “impaired” while serving in Whitehall.

Government figures had urged Acoba to impose a waiting period of a year amid anger over Ms Gray’s move to join the Labour leader after investigating Boris Johnson over lockdown breaches in No 10.

But the revolving-doors watchdog only advised a six-month pause from her last day in Whitehall, meaning she can start with Sir Keir in early September.

Labour sources said Ms Gray formally accepted the job offer on Friday after resigning in March, paving the way for the Acoba advice to be published.

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