By The New York Times (World News) | Created at 2024-10-06 12:25:09 | Updated at 2024-10-06 14:26:15
2 hours ago
Ms. Gray, chief of staff to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said she was stepping down after sustained news media attention over her pay and status.
Oct. 6, 2024, 8:20 a.m. ET
Sue Gray, the chief of staff for Britain’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, resigned abruptly on Sunday after weeks of speculation about turf wars in Downing Street, a media storm over her pay and questions over responsibility for a series of political errors.
Ms. Gray said in a statement that it had “become clear to me that intense commentary around my position risked becoming a distraction to the government’s vital work of change.”
In a statement, Mr. Starmer thanked Ms. Gray for “all the support she has given me, both in opposition and government, and her work to prepare us for government and get us started on our program of change.”
She has been appointed as the prime minister’s new envoy for regions and nations, while the role of chief of staff will be taken by Morgan McSweeney, who masterminded the successful election campaign this summer for the Labour Party.
In a statement, the opposition Conservative Party said that “in fewer than 100 days, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government has been thrown into chaos — he has lost his chief of staff who has been at the center of the scandal the Labour Party has been engulfed by.”
This is a developing story.
Stephen Castle is a London correspondent of The Times, writing widely about Britain, its politics and the country’s relationship with Europe. More about Stephen Castle
