When Sir Keir Starmer appointed Sue Gray as his chief of staff, he said her “unrivalled experience” in Whitehall would help get Labour ready to form a “mission-led” government.

But nearly two months into the job, as the scale of discontent around his positioning on the Israel-Hamas war has grown, the top civil servant has found herself plunged instead into the heart of an emotionally charged internal party rift.

Insiders say she has been seen comforting MPs and staff “in tears” over the unfolding drama and the backlash they have received from constituents, with one Labour source telling Sky News she had “literally been putting her arms around people”.

Sir Keir’s refusal to call for an outright ceasefire, and an interview with LBC which led to him clarifying remarks he made about Israel’s decision to limit supplies to Gaza, has prompted outrage in Muslim communities and beyond.

Those who have watched her operate up close say Ms Gray has been adding a “human element” to the party’s approach – which some critics have described as previously being “a bit macho”.

“She’s been providing so much of what has been missing. She’s breaking up the boys’ club.”

Like Labour leaders before him, Sir Keir inherited a party split along left and right when he replaced Jeremy Corbyn following the 2019 election defeat.

He sought to manage the threat posed by the left by hiring aides who sought to minimise their influence – for example, by disciplining those who failed to toe the party line and by keeping a tight control over parliamentary selections.

That approach, spearheaded by Ms Gray’s predecessor Morgan McSweeney, has been seen as successful – if unpopular with some.

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But some Labour sources suggest the situation in which Sir Keir now finds himself has exposed the vulnerabilities that remain in the party – that the leader of the opposition’s office (LOTO) is functioning more as a campaign machine distracted by “factionalism” than a party of government.

Instead of engaging with MPs, some of the Labour leader’s aides are seen as having a dismissive attitude towards them.

“The ‘boys’ in LOTO basically think that MPs aren’t important,” one source said. “They think that everything happens in HQ.

“We’re in a different phase of the Labour Party and they are not recognising that. The Corbyn war is over and they now need to engage with MPs.”

By contrast, some sources have praised Ms Gray for taking a more “conciliatory” approach that looks to bring people into the conversation rather than exclude them.

“Sue doesn’t have the baggage of years of Labour infighting,” the source explained. “She has come in with a fresh pair of eyes and a different attitude.

“I think people suspect she’s not really got any politics because she’s a former civil servant – but she’s got more politics and experience in her little finger than probably most of them put together.”

A Labour frontbencher agreed, telling Sky News: “She is a grown-up who wants us to function – for the country, not for the factions.”

Another party official said that while Ms Gray was more “approachable” and “communicative” with the shadow cabinet, Mr McSweeney “instantly understood” the implications of the Gaza row for MPs – dismissing suggestions to the contrary.

“He knows better than anyone the different constituencies of Labour support,” they added.

Politics and people

Ms Gray has been operating in Whitehall for decades, holding senior positions such as director general of propriety and ethics and second permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office.

But it was her investigation into partygate during the COVID pandemic that made her a household name and caught the eye of Sir Keir.

Alex Thomas, a programme director at the Institute for Government, who knows Ms Gray and has worked with her, told Sky News the people skills she picked up in the civil service would be useful in managing the current situation.

“It makes her well-equipped to advise and broker and understand where people are coming from in potentially hot and fractious environments and to play that peacemaker role,” he said.

What may have provided some training ground for Ms Gray is the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon, which plunged Tony Blair into a crisis of his own. Ms Gray was serving in Whitehall at the time.

“It is likely her role would have been less about foreign policy and the diplomatic aspects and more about the ministerial side of things such as managing the domestic government fallout,” Mr Thomas said.

One senior union figure also agreed that decades of experience in Whitehall had led to her becoming a critical adviser to Sir Keir.

“Sue has dealt with some of the most sensitive issues in government,” they explained. “She’s advised prime ministers; she’s investigated prime ministers.

“Her job as a civil servant was to advise. She can’t dominate, she can’t enforce, she has to make people agree with her point of view by persuading them.”

Stepping on toes?

As well as managing tensions within the party, Sir Keir has also had to grapple with unhappy stakeholders, including metro mayors with whom relations have been strained over a number of policy issues.

One Labour insider accused Sir Keir’s office of having previously adopted a “brand of Millwall politics” – a reference to the club’s supporter’s chant: “No one likes us, we don’t care.”

They argue this alienated mayors and led to poor relations, whereas Ms Gray is said to be involving mayors in political discussions and ramping up day-to-day engagement.

“In a few short weeks Sue Gray has already started to repair many relationships, involving politicians in decision-making for the first time, bringing Angela [Rayner] closer and reaching out to the mayors and trying to mend bridges,” the insider said.

“Her conciliatory approach is winning her many fans.”

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Another senior Labour source told Sky News: “Her style of leadership is inclusive. She’s a very impressive operator.

“She’s the first person in, she’s the last person to leave and she talks to everyone, even the most junior person in the room. She’s even tackled how some people treat the cleaners.”

But, they said, Ms Gray’s approach might mean she could “step on the toes” of those who have hitherto enjoyed unrivalled authority.

“Sue has asserted herself in the process of political decision-making but she won’t go unchallenged,” the senior source added.

“She’s like a new club manager who faces a dressing room clique with too much power, and she needs to break that if she’s going to deliver results.”