The assignment handed to Sue Gray, to investigate gatherings on government premises during Covid restrictions, was politically radioactive. But under huge public scrutiny and political pressure, the senior civil servant performed the task admirably.
Keir Starmer has raised eyebrows in Westminster by appointing Gray as his chief of staff. Given the high esteem in which she is held across Whitehall, it is hardly surprising that a political party which hopes to be in government might want her on its team.
