Sue Gray: The Partygate investigator and civil servant

Senior civilian servant Sue Gray, who became a household sanction arsenic the Partygate investigator, has been offered a occupation arsenic Labour person Keir Starmer's main of staff.

Ms Gray's enquiry into lockdown gatherings successful Downing Street contributed to Boris Johnson's downfall past twelvemonth and prompted galore Conservative MPs to telephone connected him to resign.

Tory MPs person expressed choler astatine the occupation offer, with allies of the erstwhile premier curate saying it undermines her study and the impartiality of the civilian service.

A Labour spokesperson said enactment person Sir Keir was "delighted" that "she hopes to judge the relation taxable to mean procedures".

The authorities confirmed connected Thursday that Ms Gray had near her presumption arsenic a elder authoritative astatine the levelling up and lodging department.

Under the civilian work code, officials of Ms Gray's seniority indispensable hold a minimum of 3 months earlier taking up extracurricular employment.

She said galore events "should not person been allowed" and the past premier minister, Mr Johnson, "must carnivore responsibility".

Jacob Rees-Mogg, a furniture curate nether Mr Johnson, has said Ms Gray's Partygate conclusions present looked "like a left-wing stitch up".

However, Labour's shadiness civilization caput Lucy Powell told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme it was "ludicrous" to suggest her assignment undermined her Partygate report.

The civilian servant does person plentifulness of acquisition successful authorities including investigating - and successful immoderate cases condemning - almighty ministers.

In his memoir, the erstwhile Liberal Democrat curate David Laws recalls being told by chap curate Oliver Letwin: "It took maine precisely 2 years earlier I realised who it is that runs Britain.

"Our large United Kingdom is really wholly tally by a woman called Sue Gray, the caput of morals oregon thing successful the Cabinet Office - unless she agrees, things conscionable don't happen."

Ms Gray joined the civilian work consecutive from schoolhouse and worked her mode up to the Cabinet Office where, for six years, she led the government's Propriety and Ethics team, which provides proposal to authorities departments connected standards issues.

Polly Mackenzie - who worked arsenic a peculiar advisor successful the Cabinet Office - told the BBC's Profile programme successful 2017: "Sue has been determination for truthful long, she knows everything that anybody has ever done wrong."

Gus O'Donnell, a erstwhile caput of the civilian service, said: "If determination is immoderate 1 idiosyncratic successful the civilian work who could constitute their memoirs, hers would beryllium the astir valuable, the astir priceless and the astir sensational.

"I americium highly assured that specified a memoir volition ne'er beryllium written - her secrets volition spell to the grave."

In 2017, 1 of her investigations forced Damian Green - astatine the clip 1 of Theresa May's astir elder ministers - to measurement down aft helium was recovered to person made "inaccurate" statements implicit what helium knew astir claims pornography had been recovered connected his bureau machine successful 2008.

She besides investigated claims of intersexual misconduct by the curate towards writer Kate Maltby, ruling that her claims had been "plausible".

Speaking to the BBC, Ms Maltby said: "What impressed maine astir astir Sue Gray was however earnestly she took her work of attraction to complainants... she was determined to perceive to inferior people, and not fto elder unit disconnected the hook.

"I recovered her profoundly motivation successful a mode that isn't usually seen successful Westminster. But she is idiosyncratic who has spent her beingness operating successful Whitehall, and her study volition beryllium constricted by the norms of civilian work language, the parameters of the task fixed to her, and by immoderate compromises, particularly connected transparency, lone if insignificant compromises are required for her to propulsion done her cardinal ethical findings".

Ms Gray's cognition of ministers' backstage interests is said to person been utile to premier ministers carrying retired rejigs of their ministerial team.

Chris Cook - an ex BBC writer who present works for quality website Tortoise - said 1 motion of a forthcoming reshuffle would beryllium erstwhile Sue Gray's bureau furnishings had been re-arranged.

After 20 years, she near the Cabinet Office connected secondment to enactment astatine the concern section successful Northern Ireland's government.

When a occupation to pb the Northern Ireland civilian work became disposable she applied, but didn't get it.

Unusually for a usually backstage individual, she gave an interrogation to the BBC admitting she was "disappointed" she didn't get the apical occupation and suggested she whitethorn person been seen arsenic "too overmuch of a challenger, oregon a disrupter".

In 2021, she returned to the Cabinet Office starring connected matters related to the Union and the Constitution.

She whitethorn person spent the bulk of her vocation successful the civilian service, but successful the precocious 1980s she did instrumentality a vocation interruption to tally a Northern Ireland pub called the Cove Bar, on with her hubby the state and occidental vocalist Bill Conlon.

She told the BBC: "I loved it, loved it astatine the time, I'd ne'er bash it again."