‘Secretive’ senior Whitehall official with ‘astounding power’ in surprise move to Belfast A “secretive” and ultra-powerful Whitehall civil servant has been appointed to run a devolved department in Northern Ireland, in a […]

A “secretive” and ultra-powerful Whitehall civil servant has been appointed to run a devolved department in Northern Ireland, in a move which has fuelled speculation that the government may be considering implementing direct rule after a year without devolution.

As the DUP and Sinn Féin re-entered talks today, it was announced that Cabinet Office official Sue Gray – who has been described as “the most powerful woman in Britain” – is to be appointed to permanent secretary of Stormont’s Department of Finance.

Mrs Gray, who recently conducted the government’s inquiry into Damian Green which led to the de facto deputy Prime Minister resigning, is making the surprise move from the Cabinet Office, where she has the title ‘director general, propriety and ethics team and head of private offices group’.

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She will take up the post “over the next couple of months”.

Mysterious figure at heart of power

Much remains unknown about the 60-year-old, who in the 1980s took a strikingly unorthodox career break to run a pub in Newry, a hotbed of IRA and security force activity.

In 2015, BBC Newsnight’s policy editor Chris Cook described Mrs Gray as “the most powerful civil servant you’ve never heard of” and “also perhaps the most secretive you could ever hope to meet”.

He said that she had “astounding” influence and was “notorious for her determination not to leave a document trail”, adding that “even when a document trail exists, Ms Gray is enthusiastic about keeping it a secret”, advising special advisers of how they could destroy emails to thwart potential Freedom of Information requests.

‘Nothing moves in Whitehall unless Sue says so’

In his memoirs, former Lib Dem minister David Laws recounted a conversation with Conservative minister Oliver Letwin in which he said: “Our great United Kingdom is actually entirely run by a lady called Sue Gray, the Head of Ethics or something in the Cabinet Office.

“Unless she agrees, things just don’t happen. Cabinet reshuffles, departmental reorganisations, the whole lot – it’s all down to Sue Gray. Nothing moves in Whitehall unless Sue says so.”

i asked the Department of Finance three questions about Ms Gray – her exact salary, why she had made the unusual move and whether she originally came from Northern Ireland.

The department declined to answer any of the questions, saying that her salary would be somewhere between £114,047 and £133,327 and adding: “It would not be appropriate for the Department to comment on your other queries. These would be matters for the individual concerned.”

The department directed us to Mrs Gray’s official government biography, which is 64 words long.

‘Potentially transformative’ appointment

Two months ago The Times reported that “senior allies” of the Prime Minister had considered removing Mrs Gray – whose husband is reportedly from Northern Ireland – from her post.

MCE public relations, whose head of public affairs is Richard Bullick – the former DUP Spad who worked at the top of Stormont for a decade, said it was “potentially the most transformative appointment to the Northern Ireland Civil Service in recent years”, adding that her appointment “will have significance far beyond the Department of Finance as the Northern Ireland Civil Service comes to terms with the outcome of the RHI Inquiry and the absence of ministers”.

Mrs Gray’s arrival comes at a point when the Northern Ireland Civil Service’s reputation has been battered by a stream of revelations of incompetence which have emerged at the public inquiry into the RHI scandal.

In the wake of today’s announcement, the Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood tweeted his congratulations, saying that Mrs Gray had been “a central part of life and leadership of the Cabinet Office for over 20 years”. He thanked her for “tireless, selfless and inspiring public service”.