Furious allies of Boris Johnson have called for Keir Starmer’s appointment of Sue Gray as his chief of staff to be blocked.
The Labour leader was “delighted” that the senior civil servant plans to “accept the role subject to the normal procedures”, his party said.
An ally added that Sir Keir “was determined to have someone who had a governmental mindset, knows the wiring of Whitehall and has ethical standards”.
Arch Johnson loyalists were outraged, however, with Jacob Rees-Mogg saying her appointment “stinks” and called for an inquiry into her contacts with Labour.
Speaking on GB News, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “It is hard not to feel that she has been rewarded and offered a plum job for effectively destroying a prime minister and creating a coup.
“This appointment invalidates her partygate report and shows that there was a socialist cabal of Boris haters, who were delighted to remove him.”
Nadine Dorries, who served as Mr Johnson’s Culture Secretary, described the Gray report as a “stitch-up” and said the move to Sir Keir’s office was “not surprising”.
“There should be an inquiry into Sue Gray herself. What contact did she have with the Labour Party for her to suddenly become Labour Chief of Staff?” Marco Longhi, MP for Dudley North, told the Standard.
“How can any Minister now feel they can rely on impartial advice?”
The circumstances of Ms Gray’s resignation as second permanent secretary in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will be reviewed amid concerns she may breached impartiality rules by holding talks with Labour.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “We are reviewing the circumstances under which she resigned.”
Under the civil service code, officials of Ms Gray’s seniority must wait a minimum of three months before taking up outside employment.
The move will be scrutinised by Parliament’s anti-corruption watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), before advising the Prime Minister on whether the move is “unsuitable”.
Mr Sunak will have the final say on any decision on whether to block Ms Gray’s appointment.
Ms Gray’s investigation into law-breaking parties held in Downing Street during Mr Johnson’s leadership played a key role in his downfall as Prime Minister.
Ms Gray got the job as partygate enforcer after Cabinet Secretary Simon Case had to step down from the investigation when he became embroiled in claims of partying during the pandemic himself.
She criticised “failures of leadership and judgment” in No10 and said “the senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility”.
Both Mr Johnson and the current Prime Minister received fines from the Met Police after they investigated parties in Downing Street and Whitehall that breached lockdown laws - this was seperate to Ms Gray’s inquiry.
A Labour Party spokesman said: “The Labour Party has offered Sue Gray the role of chief of staff to the Leader of the Opposition.
“We understand she hopes to accept the role subject to the normal procedures. Keir Starmer is delighted she is hoping to join our preparations for government and our mission to build a better Britain.”
On Thursday a No 10 spokesman said: “I can confirm Sue Gray has resigned from the post of second permanent secretary in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
“This was accepted by the department’s permanent secretary and the Cabinet Secretary with immediate effect.
“We will not be commenting further on individual personal matters. But you asked me specifically when, that took place this afternoon.”
Asked whether there were concerns about unpublished partygate details being passed to the Opposition, the spokesman said: “All civil servants leaving the civil service have to abide by the Acoba process.”
