Gray’s inspection ‘made Labour staffers cry’
Chief of staff ‘confiscated employees’ phones’ in heavy-handed party leaks investigation
LABOUR staffers have lodged a complaint over Sue Gray’s handling of an inquiry into a leak about the party’s plans to drop the £28billion green pledge.
Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff allegedly made staffers cry as she was said to have inspected several phones and spoken to employees without trade union representation present.
Party officials have said that they were denied due process during the internal investigation following a story that emerged in The Guardian which correctly predicted Labour’s about-turn on its flagship pledge.
The Times reported that the Labour Party branch of the GMB union submitted a formal complaint about Ms Gray’s investigation to David Evans, the party’s general secretary.
They later sent an email to all staff reminding them of their rights during a workplace investigation.
Ms Gray, a former civil servant, has reportedly called some of those affected by the investigation to apologise.
Those told to turn their phones over included senior members of Sir Keir’s team.
A party spokesman said he did not comment on disciplinary matters, but a source confirmed to The Times that “there was an investigation last week” which involved speaking to members of staff.
It is not known whether anyone has been identified as being behind the leak, or whether Ms Gray has evidence of any unauthorised disclosure.
It is understood not to be the first leak inquiry of Sir Keir’s leadership.
Human resources for the opposition party is understood to also have been involved in this investigation, and only those who were prepared to hand over their phones did so – with staff told that they could hand over their devices voluntarily.
Anybody seeking union representation was said to have been supported.
Ms Gray, 66, was poached by Sir Keir’s team in March last year, having previously investigated Boris Johnson over lockdown breaches at No10.
She first worked in the Civil Service in the 1970s, becoming the head of the Government’s propriety and ethics team in the Cabinet Office for six years.
The news that she was jumping ship to join Sir Keir’s top team sparked anger in the Conservative Party, with Government figures urging Acoba, the Whitehall appointments watchdog, to impose a cooling-off period of at least a year.
But despite saying it “shared some of the concerns” over a potential risk to the Civil Service’s integrity, the committee cleared Ms Gray to start as the Labour leader’s chief of staff after just six months.
Led by Conservative peer Lord Pickles, it said it had seen “no evidence” that her decision-making or impartiality were “impaired” while serving in Whitehall. She officially started the role in September.
A separate, damning Cabinet Office inquiry found that Ms Gray had breached impartiality rules and could have been suspended or sacked had she not quit.
The assessment, signed off by Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, and the Government’s most senior lawyer concluded that Ms Gray “fell short” of the requirements of both the Civil Service Code and her employment contract when she quietly took part in talks about joining Labour. Ms Gray declined to co-operate with the internal inquiry and Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA trade union, insisted that it was his understanding that there was “no conclusion”.
The investigation revelations come as Sir Keir faces a difficult week as leader of the Labour Party, having suspended two parliamentary candidates within 24 hours. Sir Keir has faced criticism for his handling of the Rochdale by-election candidate, Azhar Ali, claiming that Israel let Hamas attack its own citizens on Oct 7 to get the “green light” to invade Gaza.
Shadow ministers were sent out to defend Mr Ali, who had apologised for the remarks, before the party then withdrew its support on Monday evening.
Labour has been approached for comment.