Jacob Rees-Mogg lashed out at Partygate investigator Sue Gray over her move to join Labour, accusing the “friend of the socialists” of “conniving” with the opposition.
The former cabinet minister was one of several Tories who expressed their fury at Ms Gray’s decision to quit her top civil service role and take up a job as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff.
But leaked WhatsApp messages revealed a rift among Tory MPs, with some arguing that attacks on Ms Gray will backfire by bringing attention to rule-breaking Covid parties.
Mr Rees-Mogg claimed Ms Gray’s Partygate inquiry of May 2022 was now tainted, suggesting she had been bias against Boris Johnson.
“Does this not smash to pieces the idea of an independent civil service, when we know that one of the most senior civil servants in the country was conniving in secret meetings with the party of opposition?” he said.
He added: “And does this not undervalue years of advice and reports that she has given? Her views on devolution, which were known constantly to be soft, her report into [Mr Johnson and Partygate] which we now know was done by a friend of the socialists.”
But in WhatApps discussion published by Sky News, former Tory whip Jackie Doyle-Price argued that Mr Johnson had appointed Ms Gray to lead the Partygate probe. “So much for a stitch-up,” she said.
She added: “Decades of public service where she has inspired respect on all sides don’t deserve to be trashed by a herd of Conservative MPs who just want to fight a partisan battle. I am quite ashamed of what I see.”
Johnson ally Nadine Dorries questioned Ms Doyle-Price’s argument, saying Ms Gray had undermined “the foundations of our democracy and how we govern”.
She added: “Who knew about Rishi’s wife financial affairs/ non Dom etc? I don’t know if it was her but my understanding is that very few people did know and she was one of them and she knew it all. A lot may suddenly begin to make sense.”
Adding to fears Ms Gray has sensitive information on the Tory government, Mark Jenkinson MP said Ms Gray “has had tentacles into a lot of what we’ve done”.
But Tory MP Tim Loughton said: “Impugning her integrity about the way she handled Partygate without evidence of what she may have done differently in light of the above only refocusses public attention on Partygate.”
Ms Gray has been expected to submit a formal request to take on the role when she puts in her application to parliament’s anti-corruption watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba).
Sir Keir has refused to say when he first approached Ms Gray amid the Tory outcry – but he insisted he had “absolutely no contact” with the civil servant as she carried out her probe last year and “nothing improper” had been done.
But the government said Ms Gray may have broken the rules for notifying Acoba officials about her decision to take up a post with Labour.
Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin told the Commons: “The rules state that approval must be obtained prior to a job offer being announced. The Cabinet Office has not as yet been informed that the relevant notification to Acoba has been made.”
Mr Quin called on Labour to produce a list of meetings with Ms Gray. “Why are they refusing to publish when they met with Sue Gray? Exactly what is Labour trying to hide? They believe Acoba rules should be tightened. But why weren’t the current ones followed?”
But deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner accused Conservative MPs of pursuing “conspiracy theories” spread by Mr Johnson and his allies.
