No 10 crisis ‘bigger than fixer Sue Gray’, say Whitehall sources

Whitehall chiefs warn of dysfunctional Downing Street and the ousted chief of staff’s allies say male advisers felt threatened.

Sue Gray attends the UN General Assembly last month. Picture: AFP

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to sack his chief of staff will not resolve “systemic” issues within Downing Street nor questions over his leadership, senior Whitehall figures say.

Sir Keir is trying to reboot his government by the dismissal of Sue Gray after three months in power marked by scandal and infighting, replacing her with Morgan McSweeney, who is seen as the man behind Labour’s election victory.

Downing Street said the changes meant Sir Keir had the “right structures in place going forward to deliver change for the country” as he approached the 100th day of his premiership.

Leading government figures, however, said Ms Gray had been made a scapegoat for wider problems in Downing Street that would not be resolved by her ­departure.

Ms Gray’s allies also disputed claims that she had presided over a culture of dysfunction in No 10, with one saying she had been the victim of a group of male advisers who felt threatened by her.

“Either Starmer wasn’t across what was going on or he was and he let them do it. Frankly, neither is a good look,” the ally said.

“You simply can’t have a lot of out-of-control special advisers ousting a chief of staff.”

Cabinet ministers have privately expressed concern at Sir Keir’s personal judgment, particularly the slowness of his response to a scandal over donations and gifts, including suits worth more than £30,000 for himself.

A Whitehall source said: “The dysfunction in Downing Street is not the fault of Sue. There are systemic issues which Starmer has not addressed. Just because she has now gone does not mean that things are going to improve. In some ways, if you’re chief of staff all roads lead to your door and you can be blamed for everything. In reality, the ultimate responsibility lies with the PM.”

Another senior figure said Ms Gray’s treatment by other staff in No 10 had resulted in at least one senior woman deciding not to apply for the job of cabinet secretary, soon to be vacant.

“Serious people are thinking twice about applying and at least one has decided it is not for them after seeing what happened to Sue,” the source said. “They’ve seen the dysfunction and … are asking themselves whether the job is worth it.”

Ms Gray’s dismissal followed weeks of hostile briefing, including leaked details of her salary. In the aftermath, government figures said Sir Keir had blamed her for overseeing a structure in Downing Street that was not working and hoarding power and access to the Prime Minister.

One said she had taken control of the list of planned announcements, known internally as the grid. “There was no grid for the first 100 days,” a source said. “And that was the one thing she was expected to be working on while everyone else was busy on the campaign.”

This is denied by Ms Gray’s allies. One said: “She never had responsibility for the grid. That was always, and has always been, the role of the communications team. She was the one who was expressing frustration about getting on the front foot.”

Another Labour figure said Sir Keir decided Ms Gray had to go because she had lost the confidence of others in his team. “What you’ve seen is a ‘players’ revolt’ in No 10 and now they’re in charge,” the source said. “It is far from clear they’re going to do any better.”

Sir Keir is not expected to carry out a wider cabinet reshuffle this year following concerns that doing so risked further destabilising his team and plans.

Defence Secretary John Healey said while Downing Street had become a “lightning conductor for criticism” Sir Keir had a “strong team” around him.

THE TIMES