Sue Gray: Civil servant seen as 'too challenging' for top job

Boris Johnson's principal adviser on the union has said she may have been overlooked for the top job in the NI Civil Service because it was thought she was "too much of a challenger".

When Sue Gray was head of the Propriety and Ethics Team in the Cabinet Office, she was described as "the most powerful civil servant you've never heard of".

She was also dubbed "the most powerful woman in Britain".

But in 2020 she failed to become head of the NI Civil Service.

Ms Gray had a formidable reputation as a highly secretive enforcer as she investigated whether rules had been broken by ministers, officials and special advisers.

One of those investigations resulted in the resignation of Theresa May's former deputy Damien Green who was accused of inappropriate behaviour towards a young Tory activist and having pornography on his office computer.

Three years ago her appointment as permanent secretary of Stormont's Department of Finance raised eyebrows.

Some thought it was a precursor to her becoming appointed head of the Civil Service, which was heavily criticised for its handling of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scandal.

'I wanted to have change'

She applied for the job last year after the retirement of David Sterling but the first and deputy first ministers failed to fill the position after a round of interviews.

Now, in her first interview, Ms Gray, who this week began her new permanent secretary role within the Cabinet Office specialising in the union and the constitution, told BBC NI's The View programme her failure to land the job left her "disappointed " and that she had wanted to bring about change.

"I really wanted the job, but had to get over it," she said.

"Why didn't I get the job? I'm not sure I'll ever quite know but I suspect, you know, I suspect people may have thought that I perhaps was too much of a challenger, or a disrupter.

"I am both. Perhaps I would bring about... too much change. And yes, I wanted to have change."

Asked if the NI Civil Service needed change, she said: "It needs to change, and it's come on, it's got some great people doing great things.

"There is more to do and I hope to be able also to work with whoever will be the next head of the civil service to help with that."

Asked if she had tried to find out why she hadn't got the job, she replied: "I'm not going to go into that but I know that I would have enjoyed it.

"But look, I'm going back now to a job where I really can maintain close links here."

After the failure to appoint a successor for Mr Sterling it was decided to split the role into two.

David Sterling retired from the top job in the NI Civil Service in 2020

In December Jenny Pyper was installed temporarily for a period of eight months.

After that, the new head of the Civil Service will not manage the department overseen politically by Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill.

A new second permanent secretary role, described as a de facto chief operating officer, is being created within the Executive Office.

Former pub owner

On her new job, Ms Gray said "My role will be to ensure and maintain the union, to support the prime minister in that work.

"I will be a very powerful voice for Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England and I'll be working with departments to ensure that when they're developing policies that we are taking into account the different parts of the United Kingdom, and that not one size is going to fit all."

Despite her reputation, Ms Gray is the most unconventional of Whitehall civil servants.

She is married to a country and western singer originally from Portaferry in County Down, called Bill Conlon.

For a time in the 1980s they ran a pub called the Cove Bar outside Newry, County Down.

"I loved it, loved it at the time, I'd never do it again," she said.

"I think actually it's a very sociable occupation, very hard work. But I loved meeting people.

"I think it was in a relatively country area, so, a mix of farmers, business people, a great mix of characters, and I got to know them really well and I threw myself into that."

If she had got the top job in Northern Ireland's Civil Service would she have taken on her current job back in Whitehall?

"No," she replied without hesitation, adding: "I have really loved my time here."

The View is on Thursday May 20 at 2245 on BBC One NI and afterwards on the BBC iPlayer.