SUE Gray was today accused of breaking strict civil service rules by taking a job as Sir Keir Starmer’s top aide.
The Government believes the under-fire Partygate inquisitor’s dodgy appointment might have made FOUR breaches.
Sue Gray’s job is in serious doubt
Cabinet Office Minister Jeremy Quin skewered Labour for “playing fast and loose” with the sacred Whitehall code.
And a chorus of Tory MPs lined up to condemn Sir Keir’s hire – saying it “stinks like a rotting fish”.
In a fiery Commons showdown Mr Quin slammed Ms Gray for failing to consult the appropriate watchdog before being hired by the Opposition chief.
He said: “The rules state that approval must be obtained prior to a job offer being announced.
“The Cabinet Office has not as yet been informed that the relevant notification to Acoba has been made.”
Mr Quin raged Ms Gray had destroyed confidence in senior civil servants, failed to declare meetings with Labour and did not get approval to talk to the Opposition.
And he also blasted Sir Keir for taking a sledgehammer to Whitehall impartiality by poaching the top mandarin.
He said: “The party opposite talks about rules, they talk about transparency, they talk about standards in public life. Given all the constant talk, it’s time they walked the walk.”
Ms Gray triggered a mammoth backlash from Tory MPs after she quit government late last week to join Labour.
Allies of Boris Johnson today seized on the appointment as evidence her Partygate probe last year was a stitch-up.
Ex-Cabinet Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said the hire “smashed to pieces the idea of an independent civil service, when we know that one of the most senior civil servants in the country was conniving in secret meetings with the party of opposition.”
He threw into doubt Ms Gray’s Partygate probe “which we now know was done by a friend of the socialists.”
Labour’s Angela Rayner tried to defend the controversial hire and shot back that BoJo’s pals were “indulging in the conspiracy theories of the former prime minister”.
Earlier Sir Keir refused six times to explain when he first approached Ms Gray with the job offer.
