How top mandarin made friends with Stormont’s mouser-in-chief

THE former Westminster civil servant once described as the most powerful woman in the UK has revealed her softer side as she settles into her new role at Stormont.

Sue Gray, who once kept Cabinet ministers in line, revealed she is a fan of cats — and posted a pic of her new feline friend.

“Met the Stormont cat today,” she tweeted. “Does anyone know its name? Made me realise how much I miss Cabinet Office cats Evie and Ossie.”

Ms Gray was appointed permanent secretary in the Department of Finance in January.

Having worked with four Prime Ministers, Ms Gray has a wealth of experience and is implicitly trusted by Theresa May, having guided successive Governments through crises.

She led the investigation into former First Secretary of State Damian Green, who was accused

Permanent secretary Sue Gray and the Stormont moggie

of inappropriate behaviour towards a young female Tory activist. She has overseen Cabinet reshuffles, signed off politicians’ memoirs, and vetted honours recipients.

Her appointment to Stormont was seen as a surprise move, but she has local family connections.

In the 1980s she ran The Cove pub outside Newry with her husband Bill Conlon, a country and

western singer from Portaferry. Conservative journalist Andrew Gimson once wrote of her: “A slash of scarlet lipstick and bouffant brown hair should not distract one from the truth that she is a steely enforcer of Whitehall authority. All power to the Civil Service is her modus operandi. She owes her allegiance to the permanent government and the deep state.”