Guess who hired job panel trio?

SUE Gray was on the panel that hired three members of the committee that will rule on her new job as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff.

Cabinet Office records reveal she was one of the four who selected the eight-strong Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA).

Tory critics have urged ACOBA to block her move to Labour, fearing she could use ‘privileged information’ such as that on ministers’ private lives to benefit the party.

Ms Gray helped select three members – Jonathan Baume, Dr Susan Liautaud and Richard Thomas – in 2018, who will now rule on whether her move should be allowed. Labour and Ms Gray say they will comply with any ACOBA ruling.

Some civil servants are concerned her new role undermines Whitehall impartiality.

‘This is not good for the civil service and I hope that ACOBA will think very carefully about what restrictions to impose,’ a former permanent secretary told the Politico website.