Keir Starmer 'planning to hand ex-chief of staff Sue Gray a peerage'

Keir Starmer is reportedly seeking to reward his former top aide Sue Gray with a seat in the House of Lords after she was forced out of Downing Street in a Labour power battle.

Ms Gray, a former senior civil servant, stepped down as the Prime Minister's £170,000 chief of staff in October following reports of a clash with other senior aides.

She subsequently accepted and then rejected a role as his envoy to the nations and regions amid claims of a new disagreement over pay.

Now the Financial Times reports she is on a list of political peers the PM wants to appoint in the New Year Honours.

Also on the list are a string of time-served Labour MPs who stepped down at the election, who are being rewarded for making way for new 'talent' to enter the Commons.

They are said to include Lyn Brown, Kevin Brennan, Julie Elliott and Thangam Debbonaire.

The latter was almost certain to get a Cabinet job had she not lost her Bristol seat to the Greens in one of Labour's only election setbacks.

A source told the FT they wanted more 'proven workhorses in parliament', rather than business people and scientists. 

Ms Gray's three months in No10 were marked by regular reports of tensions within Sir Keir's top team, while it was leaked that she was earning more than Sir Keir's salary of £166,786.

Ms Gray, whose son, Liam Conlon, is a Labour MP, said she was leaving the chief of staff role in October because it was 'clear to me that intense commentary around my position risked becoming a distraction'.

She was replaced as Sir Keir's chief of staff by Morgan McSweeney, the apparent victor in a Downing Street power struggle. 

He had previously overseen Labour's victorious general election campaign and been the PM's top political adviser in No10.

The ex-chief of staff was said to be taking a holiday before starting her new job as envoy, after she faced intense scrutiny in the media.

But six weeks later it emerged that she will now not be taking up the role as planned after her break from Government.

Ms Gray would have acted as a go-between for ministers with devolved governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and regional mayors across England.

But her future in the job was cast into doubt not long after she resigned as chief of staff, when she failed to appear at the first summit between the Government and leaders from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the English regions.

Asked why there were no plans to fill the role given it was previously described as 'vital' to Government, No 10 said Ms Gray had been 'uniquely placed' to hold the position and repeated that the role would be kept 'under review'.