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Government’s investigation into Sue Gray “an inquiry with no rules or precedent”, says FDA

Following the publication of a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) on the Cabinet Office’s investigation into former DLUHC Second Permanent Secretary Sue Gray, FDA General Secretary Dave Penman branded the investigation an “inquiry with no rules or precedent”, adding that the FDA had advised Gray not to participate.

In the statement, Minister for the Cabinet Office Jeremy Quin said there had been a ‘prima facie’ breach of the Civil Service Code when Gray had spoken to the Leader of the Opposition in late October. Quin’s comments came despite the business appointments watchdog ACOBA having already ruled that there had been no evidence provided to them “that Ms Gray’s decision making or ability to remain impartial was impaired whilst she remained in her civil service role”.

As reported by the Guardian, the FDA had previously written on three occasions, in a period of under three weeks, to try and establish basic details about the inquiry, including the process being used, without success. General Secretary Dave Penman pointed out that the government had extended the remit of the investigation beyond what had originally been promised, adding “you cannot undertake such an investigation without proper procedure”.

“If you’re asked to co-operate with an investigation, you at least expect to be told the rules. A point-blank refusal to even acknowledge the repeated requests for basic information meant no union could have advised co-operation, and I certainly didn’t,” Penman told Civil Service World.

Speaking to the Tortoise’s Cat Neilan, the General Secretary also highlighted the “obvious contradiction” in the way the government had handled the Sue Gray investigation compared to other individuals, including those accused of sexual harassment:

“They have to explain why they have picked to investigate some individuals and not others, particularly given they have written to the complainants and said we are not investigating, while they are putting out a WMS about the other one. That tells you that if it’s about politics it’s a priority, but if it’s bullying or sexual harassment it’s not.”

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