Boris Johnson allies furious as Keir Starmer hires Sue Gray as chief of staff

Friends of former PM say appointment calls into question parliamentary inquiry into whether Johnson misled MPs

Allies of Boris Johnson have launched an all-out effort to scupper a parliamentary inquiry into Partygate after the senior official who led an initial inquiry into the scandal was unexpectedly unveiled as Keir Starmer's new chief of staff.

The hire is a major coup for Starmer, who has been looking to appoint a veteran civil servant to prepare the party for government.