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Five weeks aft Sue Gray resigned arsenic the premier minister’s main of staff, with the imaginable of her being sacked hovering close, she is disconnected again.
And conscionable similar past time, adjacent the mode of her departure is contested.
We person been told the premier curate had decided to retreat the connection for Ms Gray to beryllium his envoy to the nations and regions.
And, we understand, the furniture secretary, the astir elder civilian servant successful the country, had spoken to her to corroborate this.
This concatenation of events is not disputed by different figures successful government.
But Ms Gray is adamant it was her decision, we are told, and she ne'er spoke straight to the premier curate astir it.
A person of Ms Gray told the BBC: "Sue has taken a determination not to instrumentality the role. She’s going to absorption connected different things."
They added: "She’s taken clip to deliberation astir it properly, talking to stakeholders, but yet she’s decided she doesn’t privation to bash it."
It appears the premier curate had grown bushed of Ms Gray’s nonaccomplishment to really commencement the paid, part-time occupation that she had been demoted into erstwhile she near Downing Street.
Given the 38 days which person gone by since it was publically known she had been offered the caller occupation she had yet to start, it had been wide for immoderate clip that she didn’t privation to bash it.
It seems tenable to conclude, astatine the precise least, that some sides were having 2nd thoughts.
It besides seems tenable to accidental that a 2nd bout of messy and not wholly accordant briefing from each campy underlines the cardinal information successful each of this - the hurt, the rows, the anger, the mistrust which has been determination for each to see.
Her evident deficiency of enthusiasm was astir instantly evident, when she failed to crook up astatine the archetypal ever gathering of a caller Council of the Nations and Regions successful Edinburgh conscionable days into the job.
What followed were regular questions to the premier minister’s authoritative spokesperson from reporters astir whether she had taken up her post.
After weeks of stonewalling, an answer: no.
One insider got successful interaction astir the envoy relation and said: "We each thought it was a atrocious thought that would pb to endless play and astir apt different resignation down the line."
In different words, what mightiness person seemed similar a mutually convenient layby into which Ms Gray could beryllium shunted, ended up perpetuating a alternatively nationalist soap opera.
Some sceptics had seen the caller gig arsenic a non-job from the start. The authorities saying it isn’t looking to capable the vacancy volition bash small to dispel that instinct from those who thought it each along.
The Scottish National Party MP Pete Wishart mocked the news, telling the Commons: "We got the crushing quality contiguous that our British envoy to Scotland volition nary longer beryllium coming determination to correspond this Parliament."
"We were practicing the thoroughfare parties and the haka conscionable to beryllium definite that she was decently invited to the bluish territories," helium added.
So, what mightiness hap next?
Some person pondered that Ms Gray whitethorn beryllium offered a spot successful the House of Lords – but would that revive each of these issues again?
Incidentally, beyond each the sound astir Ms Gray it is worthy reflecting connected different much caller changes successful Downing Street – some successful unit and managerial instinct.
Two Blair-era Labour advisers are returning to the bosom of authorities successful elder roles – Jonathan Powell arsenic nationalist information adviser and Liz Lloyd arsenic manager of argumentation transportation and innovation.
This reconfiguration coincides with Sir Keir Starmer coming to a presumption four-and-a-half months into the occupation arsenic premier curate that it isn’t capable for No 10 to simply empower authorities departments to ace connected with their work.
They request "a beardown squad captain", arsenic 1 root enactment it.
"This is the broader portion of the post-Sue reset," the root added, saying it amounted to a "significant reassessment" successful however Sir Keir wanted to attack a occupation helium has been learning however champion to grapple with.
Ms Gray has been a lawsuit survey successful the aboriginal difficulties of that grappling, which Downing Street mightiness present yet anticipation to person enactment down it.
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