#cabinet-office

#cabinet-office

Sir Keir Starmer has questions to answer over partygate investigator Sue Gray's refusal to co-operate with a Government probe into her switch to a senior Labour role, a minister has said.Security minister Tom Tugendhat said he was surprised the Labour leader was not asking the person he nominated to co-operate with the civil service body that's investigating the move to become his chief of staff.

Former senior official Sue Gray is facing a political witch-hunt, allies believe, with the government set to conclude that she broke the civil service code, in an alleged bid to delay her appointment as Keir Starmer's chief of staff until after the next general election.Ministers are expected to announce on Tuesday that an internal inquiry into Gray's departure from Whitehall has concluded that she breached the code by holding talks with Labour about the new role without informing civil service officials.

Bosses of the childcare firm at the centre of a Rishi Sunak conflict of interest row attended a Downing Street reception just hours after he was pressed by MPs over his links with the provider, the Guardian has learned.Koru Kids, which lists the prime minister's wife, Akshata Murty, as a shareholder and is expected to benefit from changes announced in the budget, is understood to have been present at a No 11 reception for the education sector on Wednesday evening.

Bosses of the childcare firm at the centre of a Rishi Sunak conflict of interest row attended a Downing Street reception just hours after he was pressed by MPs over his links with the provider, the Guardian has learned.Koru Kids, which lists the prime minister's wife, Akshata Murty as a shareholder and is expected to benefit from major changes announced in the budget, was understood to be present at a No 11 reception for the education sector on Wednesday evening.

Rishi Sunak has published his long-awaited personal tax returns, showing that he paid more than 1m in UK tax over three years.The returns show the prime minister raked in more than 1.9m last year, including 1.6m in capital gains and more than 300,000 in salary earnings and investment income.He paid more than 1m in UK tax over the past three financial years including just over 432,000 in the past year (2021-22) alone.

The civil servant who oversaw the Partygate inquiry should not be allowed to work for Labour until next year, a former commissioner for Public Appointments has said.The Sue Gray report into gatherings at Downing Street during the Covid pandemic helped seal Boris Johnson's fate and eventually saw him resign as prime minister.

Boris Johnson's role in the appointment of Richard Sharp as BBC chairman should be examined, the former commissioner for public appointments has said.The former prime minister himself was conflicted in the process, according to Sir Peter Riddell, who also said questions remain about the loan made to him.

Close BBC chair Richard Sharp discusses his donations to the Tories BBC chairman Richard Sharp is braced for a damning report into his appointment to the role after he helped facilitate an 800,000 loan guarantee for Boris Johnson.The investigation by barrister Adam Heppinstall KC is expected to be published on Friday morning.

Bosses of a company in which Rishi Sunak's wife has shares and that is expected to benefit from a new scheme unveiled in the Budget reportedly attended a Downing Street reception hours after the prime minister denied having an interest to declare.Top staff of Koru Kids, which lists Akshata Murty as a shareholder, are understood to have been present at a No 11 event for the education sector on Wednesday evening, according to The Guardian.

Rishi Sunak is facing questions over a potential conflict of interest after it emerged a childcare firm part owned by his wife is to benefit from major changes in the budget.The prime minister's wife, Akshata Murty, is listed as a shareholder in Koru Kids, a childcare agency.Koru Kids is likely to benefit from a pilot scheme offered by Jeremy Hunt to incentivise people to become childminders, with 1,200 offered to those who train to become one through an agency.

Downing Street said the decision to ban TikTok from Government phones was a prudent and proportionate step after China criticised the app abolition.Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden on Thursday announced the ban citing fears over the protection of sensitive UK Government data.It means users of Government-issued devices, bar officials given specific exemptions, will be prohibited from using the popular video-sharing application.

Labour has denied claims that top civil servant Sue Gray was in talks about taking a job as Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff for more than 12 months.The move to appoint the official who oversaw the Partygate inquiry into Boris Johnson's government has sparked outrage from Tory allies of the former PM who cried stitch up.

A former Tory minister who tried to sell off England's forests has been appointed to the board of Natural England, leading Labour to accuse the government of cronyism.Dame Caroline Spelman has been given a senior role with the government's nature watchdog and will set its strategy and policy, as well as overseeing the use of public money.