The row is raging on over Labour’s latest cronyistic appointment of Labour Together Starmtrooper Jess Sargeant to a senior Civil Service role. As revealed by Guido yesterday…

Sue Gray, meanwhile, has been busy over on Downing Street employing her aides as civil servants too. They can’t help themselves…

Gray’s Diary Secretary has been parachuted straight into a plum Civil Service position as her executive assistant, instead of being appointed more appropriately as a SpAd. Mitchell Burns-Jackson held a House of Commons pass from Keir Starmer’s office and was administrative officer for LOTO prior to working for Sue in opposition. Does the Labour Party realise that they can’t replace the entire Civil Service with party hacks?

The appointment is explained away as being according to the rules as it “was made on a fixed-term basis.” Cronies gonna crony…

UPDATE: Lee Anderson MP, Reform UK’s Chief Whip blasted Starmer on the cronyistic appointments:

“Despite having the largest majority in living memory it would appear that Sir Keir Starmer wants to totally stitch up the way he runs our country. Putting his mates into high ranking civil service jobs will ensure there is no push back on Labour’s plans to totally ruin our country. We’ve already seen them reject the idea of having Reform MPs on Select Committees and now we see another assault on our democracy”.

Labour’s new SpAds aren’t having the smoothest of entries into their new government roles. Apart from being put on strict probationary contracts they have taken far longer than normal to be confirmed. Some haven’t even signed on the dotted line yet…

Numerous frustrated SpAds blame “control freak” Sue Gray for the long delay. Guido has heard whispers from several sources that the Grayite vs. McSweeneyist split in Number 10 is far from thawing as she and the ‘McIavelli‘ wrangle for access to Starmer. Gray is accused by one insider of “acting like a Cabinet Secretary“, preventing enemies from taking on their full roles and attempting to excessively control ministers. Personnel are taking sides…

In the meantime Guido provides, as always, the definitive SpAd list…

It’s trouble in paradise for Starmer’s top team. Chief of Staff Sue Gray is said to be throwing her weight around, already clashing with Starmer’s Head of Political Strategy Morgan McSweeney. The Sun reports that ‘McIavelli’ has been made to move desk twice, each time further from the Prime Minister. Sue’s been getting her claws out…

Despite Downing Street trying to understate the reported ‘turf war’ between the two Number 10 staff, there’s persistent talk of Gray’s actions causing a stir within Starmer’s inner circle. Guido hears the delays in appointments of junior ministers and SpAd selection blockages are more due to Gray than reported. It seems Gray isn’t just grinding the gears of McSweeney either, with whispers that her ways are also sending  Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden into a spiral of frustration, who was overheard saying: “this won’t end well”. Grumbles from others seem to be met with a ‘Keir knows how I work‘ justification from Gray. Though notably she didn’t go to last week’s NATO summit with the Prime Minister. Madness in her method?

‘Gamblegate’ is still running strong in the papers and on broadcast as Craig Williams and Laura Saunders are dropped as Tory candidates. The scandal reveals a curious little web created by the revolving door at the top of the police, British government, and media – not that anyone has been bothered to mention it. Leave it to Guido…

This morning’s Telegraph reports that the Metropolitan Police is behind leaks of the names of Tories who allegedly put bets on the election date. Guido previously pointed out the proximity of the Gambling Commission to Labour. The Telegraph reports:

“Scotland Yard has been accused of leaking the identities of Tories implicated in the general election betting scandal. The Telegraph has also been told that a further five police officers are currently under investigation by the Gambling Commission, the industry watchdog, for placing bets on the date of the general election. A source close to the Cabinet Office said it was suspected that the identities of Conservative candidates and officials had been leaked from within the Metropolitan Police, Britain’s biggest force.”

This is an unusually blunt accusation during election purdah from the usually impenetrable Cabinet Office. Who is the current Director of Comms of the Met? None other than Ray Tang, the former Cabinet Office comms chief who acted as Sue Gray’s personal spin doctor during ‘partygate’. Gray, of course, is now Keir Starmer’s right hand woman…

Mr Tang, who recently received an OBE for ‘public service’, runs the comms department now being publicly accused of leaking the betting scandal names by his former colleagues in the Cabinet Office. In so doing, Cabinet Office sources are basically suggesting that the Met is effectively aiding Labour. The Met have put out a strong denial this morning, calling the Cabinet Office’s claim ‘simply untrue’. Former ethics chief Sue Gray can’t be involved…

Starmer opened PMQs with a jibe at Sunak over government ministers’ actions against rainbow-coloured lanyards. Another story Guido was happy to kick off…

Sunak was quick with a riposte:

“Civil Service impartiality is an important principle that we’re right to support but perhaps he could ask his chief of staff about that…“

Cue loud jeers from Tory MPs as Sunak returned to his defence rhetoric. Sue’s no stranger to a stitch-up…

Two months ago Simon Enright, one-time press adviser to the King and Queen, was being tipped to become “Sir Keir Starmer’s king of spin in 10 Downing Street“. According to The Sun’s Harry Cole, Sue Gray was “keen to bring in Simon Enright”, which seemed plausible given he had been providing training and advice to the shadow cabinet.

That didn’t play out, Simon Enright last week left spin-shop Freuds to become the new director of communications for Grant Shapps at the Ministry of Defence. Which means Sue Gray is still looking for a new “king of spin” for Number 10…

She could of course choose a queen, Beth Rigby’s online analysis in what is the unregulated-by-Ofcom “Sky Analysis” (formerly “Sky Views”) section of the channel’s website already reads like she is writing press releases for the Labour Party:

Perhaps the Parliamentary Lobby’s only openly known Labour Party member, Paul Waugh, might get the job assuming he doesn’t want instead to have a second go at becoming the MP for Rochdale.

Could Tom Baldwin reprise the role he did for Miliband? His hagiography of Keir shows his closeness to the principal. They say everyone has a third act in them…