Sue Gray will skip major devolved nations summit chaired by Keir Starmer to ‘take short break’

Keir Starmer is set to chair his first devolved government summit on Friday - but without his new envoy and former chief of staff Sue Gray.

Ms Gray was forced out as Sir Keir’s key adviser and asked to take on a new role as his representative for the nations and regions last weekend.

Ms Gray, whose new position was confirmed after weeks of turmoil behind the scenes in Number 10, will be a notable absence as she takes a brief hiatus before changing jobs.

At the time of her latest appointment it was claimed that Sir Keir had asked her to take on the role because reseting the relationship between the UK government and devolved government was “a priority for him”.

However, Downing Street have consistently refused to say what Ms Gray’s new salary will be, who she will answer to and what her role will be.

Cabinet ministers have insisted there is a strong team inside Downing Street despite Ms Gray being replaced by former campaign manager Morgan McSweeney after weeks of leaks and hostile briefings against her.

The former senior civil servant with decades of Whitehall experience, cited “intense commentary about my position” that risked becoming a “distraction” when she stood down.

The summit will see the prime minister announce that thousands of jobs in the green energy sector will be created across the UK with up to £24 billion worth of investment secured ahead of International Investment Summit next week.

The investments will deliver growth in the clean energy sector from Yorkshire to Suffolk and Aberdeen to Stow, representing a huge vote of confidence in the UK and long-term growth.  

The billions worth of investments include Iberdrola - one of the biggest energy companies in Europe, Orsted unlocking £8bn and GreenVolt £2.5bn of investment in offshore wind farms, and SeAh Wind UK announcing a £225 million expansion of their investment in the North East to build a wind technology manufacturing facility in Teesside.

Before the summit, Sir Keir said: “Today’s investments are a huge vote of confidence in this government and our relentless focus to drive growth across the UK.

“Whether you’re in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or England – we are creating the conditions for businesses to thrive, and our International Investment Summit will be a springboard for every part of the UK to be an engine of innovation and investment.”

Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan hailed the first council meeting as a “watershed moment”, and said he thought it was clear “this Government understands that harnessing the power of our nations and city regions can play a major role in tackling some of the biggest issues we face as a country”.

Ahead of Friday’s meeting, Sir Keir appointed Poppy Gustafsson, former head of cybersecurity firm Darktrace, to be his new “investment minister” in a bid to demonstrate the Government’s commitment to strengthening ties with business.