Sir Keir has now acted. Ms Gray has been replaced as chief of staff by Morgan McSweeney, a long-time aide who orchestrated first his campaign for the Labour leadership and then the party’s landslide election victory. Two deputies, Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson, will report to him.

Downing Street chief of staff leaves role less than 100 days after election. Today, we look at the resignation of Sue Gray as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff. Why has Gray gone now? What does this tell us about how well Downing Street is working? Who will replace her?

Sue Gray has resigned as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, saying that “intense commentary” around her position had become a “distraction”. The special adviser became a household name in 2022 when she headed a report into the Partygate scandal, criticising Boris Johnson and the Conservative government of the time.