Sue Gray: Working in Keir Starmer’s No 10 was ‘unbearable’

Sir Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff has described working inside Downing Street as "definitely unbearable" in her first interview following her resignation.

Baroness Sue Gray outlined how internal briefing disputes were "very, very difficult" and created anxieties that colleagues were secretly taping "everything you say".

The peer, who served as the top adviser in the Labour administration prior to leaving in 2024, admitted feeling "disappointed" that Sir Keir failed to act further against negative leaks to journalists.

She gave the interview to Ed Balls on the Political Currency podcast, marking her first public comments since stepping down as chief of staff almost two years ago.

Asked about the briefings against her, she said they had started while Labour was in opposition, where she would “read about things that I would have said or not said”, which continued on into government.

“I had always taken a view as a civil servant and actually as a special adviser that you know you should be able to speak freely in rooms,” she said.

“And yet here I found myself, you know, stories about supposedly trying to move Morgan McSweeney to the back of the building.

“Actually, that was a genuine, ‘I can’t believe so many of you are going to sit in this small room, let’s find a better room for you’.”

She continued: “It just got to the point where you know everything you say, you feel is somebody is recording it.”

Asked whether Sir Keir was willing to act on her concerns, she said: “I talked to him a couple of times about it, and I don’t really want to disclose individual conversations, but I was disappointed that not more was done because I think it could have been done.”

Sir Keir’s government has faced criticism from Labour members, including the party’s deputy leader Lucy Powell, who described a “boys club” culture in No 10, with a pattern of “anonymous nasty briefings” – particularly against women.

“It was definitely unbearable, particularly for me,” Lady Gray said. “And I would say that none of that briefing came from me.

“I think it was very difficult, and it was just affecting me and my life.

“I was getting into the office very early in the morning. I was leaving late to avoid…. It was very, very, very difficult period.”