Sue Gray faces questions over role in Natalie Elphicke defection

Sir Keir Starmer’s most senior aide has “questions to answer” over her role in the defection of Natalie Elphicke and what she knew about the turncoat MP’s background.

Sue Gray, who has served as Sir Keir’s chief of staff since last year, was the director general of the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team at the time allegations first emerged against Ms Elphicke’s then husband Charlie.

He was jailed for two years in 2020 for sexually assaulting two women, but police investigated allegations made by other women, at least one of whom has said his wife was aware she had accused him of assault.

Dover MP Ms Elphicke, who defected from the Tories to Labour this week, was suspended from Parliament in 2021 for trying to influence the judge in her husband’s trial, and supported his unsuccessful appeal against his convictions, saying he had been the subject of “false allegations”.

It has also emerged that Ms Elphicke is seeking planning permission to convert a garage she owns in Dover into a two-storey house, and needs the support of the Labour-run local council to overrule objections from neighbours.

The saga of Mr Elphicke’s conviction for sexual assault, and his then wife’s support for him both during and after his conviction, has caused deep discomfort among some Labour MPs after Ms Elphicke unexpectedly announced her decision to cross the floor of the Commons this week.

On Thursday she released a statement apologising for comments she had made about her husband’s victims, having described their allegations as “complete nonsense”. On Friday she appeared with Sir Keir at an event in Dover where he outlined Labour’s plans to deal with illegal migration.

Mr Elphicke, who lost the Tory whip in 2017 when the allegations were referred to the police, stood down as Dover MP in 2019, when his wife took over from him.

At the time the allegations were made, Ms Gray had a reputation as “the woman who runs the country” because of her powerful role overseeing government ethics and handling crises.

According to The Times, Ms Gray was one of a handful of people who had prior knowledge of Ms Elphicke’s intended defection and was “instrumental” in guiding her into Labour’s harbour.

A senior source at Conservative Campaign Headquarters said: “There are serious questions for Sue Gray and Sir Keir Starmer arising from this grubby affair.

“Natalie Elphicke’s continued support for her disgraced husband during his appeal and attempts to improperly influence judicial proceedings are just two of the reasons her political career has gone nowhere and would be well known to Ms Gray. It’s difficult to believe that a supposed ‘sleaze buster’ would have signed off on this.”

Labour sources categorically denied that Ms Gray had any involvement in the investigations into Mr Elphicke, saying the complaints were handled by Conservative whips.

Senior Tory sources said Ms Gray had commissioned a lawyer to liaise with the police, but Labour said that, too, was done by the whips.

Labour refused to discuss the process by which Ms Elphicke was accepted into the party.

Separately, Ms Elphicke is seeking approval from her local Labour-run council in Dover for a plan to convert a garage into a two-storey home. It has prompted multiple objections from neighbours who say the development would be inappropriate.

Ms Elphicke and her then husband sold their home in Dover for £1.5 million following his conviction, but retained possession of a dilapidated garage on a separate parcel of land.

In Dec 2022 Ms Elphicke submitted plans to Dover District Council to demolish the garage and build a two-bedroomed home on the site, which has views of the Channel.

The average house price in the street is £970,000, meaning Ms Elphicke would stand to make a substantial profit if she could build a house on the site.

Dover District Council was Conservative-controlled at the time the planning application was submitted, with a Conservative majority on the planning committee. In 2023, Labour took control of the council and the planning committee.

A spokesman for the council insisted the decision over Ms Elphicke’s planning application would be taken without any political bias.

In a statement, the spokesman said: “The members’ planning code is set out in the constitution of the council. It applies to members at all times when involving themselves in the planning process and sets out that their role is to make planning decisions openly, impartially, with sound judgment and for justifiable reasons.”

Natalie Elphicke denied that her decision to defect to Labour was in any way connected to her planning application.

She added: “I am not in a relationship with Charlie Elphicke and I am long divorced from him.

“Any questions relating to him and his behaviour should be addressed to him and I refer you to my statement on Thursday.”

She said the fact that he had been accused of sexual assault by another woman – which did not result in a prosecution – was “in the public domain”.