SUE Gray has resigned as the Prime Minister’s chief of staff after a war between senior factions at the heart of government.
The top civil servant will take up another job in the Government but appears to have lost in a battle for supremacy against Keir Starmer’s top adviser Morgan McSweeney.
McSweeney, who has masterminded Labour’s return to power, will replace her in the top job.
In a statement, Gray said she was stepping down because it had “become clear to me that intense commentary around my position risked becoming a distraction to the government’s vital work of change”.
It follows briefings against her to the media, including the BBC reporting that Gray was paid more than the Prime Minister and disgruntled special advisers accusing her of attempting to effectively cut their pay.
Gray (below) also found herself accused of consolidating a substantial power base for herself in government, to the exclusion of McSweeney and others.
One government source told The Guardian in August that there had been a "massive centralisation" of power under Gray, a former senior civil servant who led Labour's preparations for government before the election.
She became a household name after authoring the partygate report into lockdown breaches in Downing Street which helped to end Boris Johnson's premiership.
They said: "Under the last government four people controlled what went into the PM’s box and now it’s one. Things have slowed down. She’s put herself into a position where she is extraordinarily powerful.
“There’s a suspicion that she’s making a lot of decisions on the PM’s behalf and that he wouldn’t necessarily agree with them."
There were reports she was micromanaging her subordinates and demanded sign off on every job in government and which special advisers would be appointed.
It appears that McSweeney, who ran Labour's General Election campaign, has won the war against Gray, after suggestions from her allies that his people were responsible for briefings against her.
Starmer last month refused to comment on reports of a rift at the heart of government but defended Gray, saying "most" of the negative stories about her in the press were "wildly wrong".
Gray will take on a new role as the Prime Minister’s “envoy for the regions and nations”.
She said: “It has been an honour to take on the role of chief of staff, and to play my part in the delivery of a Labour Government.
"Throughout my career my first interest has always been public service. However in recent weeks it has become clear to me that intense commentary around my position risked becoming a distraction to the Government’s vital work of change.
"It is for that reason I have chosen to stand aside, and I look forward to continuing to support the Prime Minister in my new role.”
Starmer (above) said: “I want to thank Sue for all the support she has given me, both in opposition and government, and her work to prepare us for government and get us started on our programme of change.
“Sue has played a vital role in strengthening our relations with the regions and nations. I am delighted that she will continue to support that work.”
Her resignation comes at the same time as a wider reorganisation within Downing Street, despite Labour being in power for just over four months.
McSweeney will now have Vidhya Alakeson, former political director at No 10, and the former director of government relations Jill Cuthbertson, working under him as deputy chiefs of staff.
Nin Pandit, director of the Downing Street Policy Unit, has been appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the PM.
And former journalist James Lyons, previously a senior communications officer at TikTok, will join to head up a new strategic communications team, Downing Street said.
The Tories said that Gray's resignation showed Labour were already in "chaos".
A Conservative spokesperson said: “In fewer than 100 days Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Government has been thrown into chaos – he has lost his chief of staff who has been at the centre of the scandal the Labour Party has been engulfed by.
“Sue Gray was brought into deliver a programme for government and all we’ve seen in that time is a government of self-service.
“The only question that remains is: who will run the country now?”
