Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Labour party members have complained about a heavy-handed leak investigation conducted by Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Sue Gray, the latest controversy to hit the opposition party.
The investigation, led by Gray, sought to identify the individuals responsible for leaking information that led to a Guardian report last week that revealed Starmer was set to scrap his £28bn green investment pledge.
Some party members alleged they were asked to hand over their phones as part of the probe and some claimed they were spoken to without trade union representation, according to a person briefed on the matter.
A Labour party spokesperson said “there was an investigation last week”, during which a number of members of staff were spoken to.
“No one was compelled to hand over their phone,” they said. “Everyone who wanted a trade union representative was perfectly entitled to have a trade union rep with them.”
There have been repeated rumours in senior Labour circles about tensions in Starmer’s office between Gray and other senior members of his team, denied by Labour officials.
Gray, a former top civil servant, joined as Labour’s chief of staff in September last year.
The leak probe, first reported by The Times, comes in what has been a bruising month for Starmer.
He drew criticism for backtracking on Labour’s £28bn green investment pledge, just days after committing himself to the figure. The annual spend target has now been slashed to £4.7bn under revised plans.
Starmer has also been criticised for his handling of remarks by Labour’s candidate in the Rochdale by-election, Azhar Ali, who claimed Israel let Hamas attack on October 7 to give it a pretext to launch an assault on Gaza.
The Labour leader withdrew support for Ali on Monday after further comments came to light. Shadow ministers had spent much of the weekend defending Ali, who has apologised for his comments.
Gray has rapidly emerged as a pivotal figure in Labour high command since joining as the party steps up its general election campaign.
She built a fearsome reputation as an investigator, having headed Whitehall’s internal probe into “Partygate” under former prime minister Boris Johnson, a scandal that led to more than 100 fines being issued to officials and ministers for breaking Covid-19 lockdown laws.
