Starmer refuses six times to be drawn on key Gray question

SIR KEIR STARMER today repeatedly refused to reveal when he first approached Sue Gray to become his chief of staff.

- Rachael Burford

The Labour leader said "absolutely nothing improper occurred" when the senior civil servant behind the Partygate report was asked to head up his office. But he refused six times to be drawn on when he first talked to her about the job.

During the "Call Keir phone-in" on LBC, he said: "That's going to be laid out by Sue. She's got to do that as part of a leaving procedure but there's nothing improper at all."

Ms Gray, below, quit her Whitehall job on Thursday afternoon following reports she was in talks to take up a position in Sir Keir's office.