At the Labour party’s post-PMQs briefing Keir Starmer’s spokesperson indicated that Sue Gray would take up her job as Starmer’s chief of staff even if the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments recommended a long wait before she starts.
Acoba can say that ministers or officials should have to wait up to two years before taking up a job outside government (although a shorter period, such as three months or six months, is more common). Labour has said it will abide by the Acoba ruling, which is only advisory.
The spokesperson said:
The Labour party is fully supporting the Acoba process and the Acoba process is that Sue Gray submits her form with the information as requested of her by Acoba in the usual way.
Asked whether Gray will be hired no matter how long her appointment is delayed, the spokesman said:
Sue Gray is going to be Keir Starmer’s chief of staff.
There is no interim chief of staff, and any plans to hire someone for that role temporarily would depend on what delay Acoba recommended, he said.
The spokesperson also accused the Tories of trying to “politicise” the process by introducing an “additional political process [the Cabinet Office inquiry into the appointment] which is not part of the standard process”.
The Economist’s Matthew Holehouse, who has been looking at precedents set by Acoba, thinks it is more likely anyway to impose restrictions on what Gray can do when she starts working for Starmer rather than a time-limited ban.
Updated at 10.28 EDT
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