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Keir Starmer’s new chief of staffSue Gray has taken the extraordinary step of denying she was ever a spy.
Ms Gray shot to fame when she compiled the Partygate report into occasions at Downing Street throughout lockdown.
Her damning findings had been broadly seen as hastening Boris Johnson’s departure from No 10 .
Once so highly effective within the Cabinet Office that she was described by a minister as the one that actually “runs Britain”, Mr Johnson expressed fury when she was employed by Labour whereas nonetheless a civil servant.
Rumours that she was a spy centre on a interval in her life when, throughout a profession break within the Nineteen Eighties, she briefly ran a pub in Northern Ireland, a quick drive from the border with the Republic of Ireland.
Asked for a new biography of the Labour chief if she had been working for British intelligence on the time, Ms Gray laughed and mentioned: “I’m definitely not a spy and no, I never have been.”
The guide additionally reveals that Sir Keir had at all times wished a civil servant for the publish, to assist him put together for transition into authorities.
On Ms Gray he mentioned: “When all this nonsense blew up and some people were asking if I should still go ahead, I was willing to wait for her because of Sue’s obvious integrity, rather than her lack of it.”
The guide, serialised in The Times, additionally reveals Sir Keir thought-about resigning after a crushing defeat within the Hartlepool by-election in 2021. The occasion had held the seat because it was created in 1974.
Biographer Tom Baldwin was informed the Labour chief informed shut aides within the fast wake of the vote that he was going to give up, earlier than being persuaded in any other case.
According to the guide, Sir Keir’s spouse Vic was amongst those that urged him to not act swiftly.
Another key determine who helped preserve Sir Keir in his publish was Morgan McSweeney, who stays Labour’s extremely influential director of campaigns.
Since then Labour has seen a dramatic turnaround within the polls, suggesting they’re on track to win the keys to No 10 later this 12 months.
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