Sue Gray rejects nations and regions role

Sue Gray will not become the UK Government’s new envoy to the nations and regions.

The former civil servant previously held the role of Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, but quit last month following a tranche of negative headlines for the government.

She was also reported to be at odds with Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s then chief political advisor who went on to take up her vacated role.

At the point of her resignation, Number 10 said she had been offered a new role to improve the relationship with central government and the nations and regions of the UK.

But now her allies have told the FT that she will no longer take up the job. A source said: “Sue has taken a decision not to take the role. She’s going to focus on other things.”

Gray became widely known for her role at the held of the partygate investigation into whether former prime minister Boris Johnson broke lockdown rules.

Her preliminary report in January 2022 concluded parties in Downing Street “should not have been allowed to take place”.

The final report was published in May of that year which pointed to “failures of leadership and judgement” throughout No 10 and the Cabinet Office.

It was a key moment in the row over Johnson’s premiership, and he resigned two weeks later.

Gray quit the civil service, where she had spent much of her working life, in March 2023 to take up the job with Starmer, who was then leader of the opposition.

The appointment was blocked for several months due to rules relating to the civil service code, but ultimately is was approved by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments in September 2023.

After the election, she stayed on in the role as Starmer became prime minister.

But a series of internal rows and briefings against her meant she quit at the start of October, saying continuing in the role “risked becoming a distraction to the government’s vital work of change”.