Sir Keir Starmer shuffles Number 10 team after Sue Gray quits as chief of staff

Sir Keir Starmer has reshuffled his Number 10 squad aft Sue Gray discontinue arsenic main of unit connected Sunday, citing concerns that questions implicit her presumption were becoming a distraction.

Parliament is acceptable to instrumentality connected Monday aft a league recess that saw the Government wrapped up successful rows implicit Ms Gray’s wage and freebies for ministers and MPs.

Ms Gray discontinue connected Sunday aft weeks of reports of tensions successful Number 10.

Less than 100 days since Labour’s wide predetermination victory, she volition present instrumentality connected a occupation moving with the Prime Minister alongside the leaders of the devolved nations and determination mayors.

She volition beryllium replaced arsenic the main of unit by Morgan McSweeney who led Labour’s wide predetermination campaign, and with whom she was reported to person clashed.

There are 2 caller lawman chiefs of unit successful Vidhya Alakeson, the governmental manager astatine Number 10, and Jill Cuthbertson, who has been manager of authorities relations successful Downing Street since their predetermination triumph successful July.

She had antecedently worked for erstwhile Labour leaders Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband.

And aft weeks of briefings astir reported splits successful Number 10, erstwhile writer James Lyons volition beryllium successful complaint of a caller strategical communications team, joining Downing Street from TikTok.

Nin Pandit, who antecedently ran the Downing Street argumentation unit, has been appointed main backstage caput to the Prime Minister, a elder civilian work position.

Meanwhile partygate study writer Ms Gray has been appointed the Prime Minister’s envoy for the regions and nations.

In her connection connected Sunday, Ms Gray said: “It has been an honour to instrumentality connected the relation of main of staff, and to play my portion successful the transportation of a Labour Government.

“Throughout my career, my archetypal involvement has ever been nationalist service.

“However, successful caller weeks it has go wide to maine that aggravated commentary astir my presumption risked becoming a distraction to the Government’s captious enactment of change.

“It is for that crushed I person chosen to basal aside, and I look guardant to continuing to enactment the Prime Minister successful my caller role.”

Sir Keir thanked Ms Gray for “all the enactment she has fixed me, some successful absorption and government, and her enactment to hole america for authorities and get america started connected our programme of change”.

“Sue has played a captious relation successful strengthening our relations with the regions and nations.

“I americium delighted that she volition proceed to enactment that work,” helium added.

A long-serving civilian servant earlier she joined Sir Keir’s apical squad successful September 2023, Ms Gray was thrust into the limelight successful 2021 erstwhile she was tasked with investigating lockdown breaches reported successful Downing Street.

She discontinue the civilian work to articulation Labour successful 2023, aft a six-month interruption that was enforced by Westminster’s appointments watchdog Acoba.

Since Labour won the predetermination successful July determination person been a bid of briefings against Ms Gray, including the leaking of accusation astir her wage to the BBC past month.

The broadcaster reported that Ms Gray was being paid £3,000 much than the Prime Minister, aft a post-election wage rise.

The quality of Ms Gray’s departure arsenic main of unit sparked claims of “chaos” from the Conservatives.

A enactment spokesperson said: “In less than 100 days Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Government has been thrown into chaos, helium has mislaid his main of unit who has been astatine the centre of the ungraded the Labour Party has been engulfed by”.

Leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick described the Government arsenic being successful “free fall” aft the news, portion chap contender James Cleverly said Labour’s “first 100 days person been a disaster, and their civilian warfare continues with the nonaccomplishment of Sue Gray”.