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Sue Gray, the former chief of staff to the UK Prime Minister, has declined to take up a role as his envoy to the nations and regions. Gray had already been demoted into a paid part-time job but never started it. Rumours suggest that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had withdrawn the offer for the envoy role. The cabinet secretary is said to have confirmed this. However, Gray denies that the Prime Minister had any direct involvement and insists her decision is personal. According to a friend who spoke to the BBC, Gray felt that ultimately she did not want to take up the role and will focus on other things.
This is not the first time that Gray has resigned from her post under the Prime Minister. The circumstances of her departure remain contentious. The lack of enthusiasm for the role became evident when she did not attend the first-ever Council of the Nations and Regions meeting in Edinburgh. Her failure to start her previous role was also the subject of increasing speculation, and questions were raised by reporters directed at the Prime Minister’s official spokesman.
Some had perceived Gray’s envoy role to be a non-job from its inception. The government’s announcement that it will not look to fill the vacancy does little to dispel that notion. The Scottish National Party MP Pete Wishart mocked the news, jokingly saying that a “haka” was being practiced to welcome her to the Northern Territories.
Reports suggest that Gray may be offered a seat in the House of Lords, but this may also revive previous issues.
However, in other news, Downing Street has recently reconfigured its personnel and managerial instinct, with two Blair-era Labour advisers returning to senior positions in the heart of UK government. Sir Keir Starmer also seeks to appoint a “strong team captain” to assist him in his role as Prime Minister. The reassessment of its personnel may reflect an attempt by Downing Street to overcome previous rocky starts, which include Gray’s resignation and her role as an envoy
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