UK’s ex-PM Johnson called partygate investigator Sue Gray a ‘psycho’, says former adviser

UK’s former prime minister Boris Johnson used to describe senior civil servant and partygate investigator Sue Gray as a “psycho”, his former doctor has claimed.

Speaking to LBC News, Guto Harri—who worked for Johnson when he was the London mayor and joined his Downing Street team in 2022 as the director of communications—also revealed that Johnson was also planning to fire Rishi Sunak as the Chancellor had he stayed on as the prime minister because of a major clash over the need for tax cuts.

His remarks came during a podcast telecaston Tuesday, where he was speaking about Johnson’s view of Gray.

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“[Johnson] had respected her a lot, but by the time I got there, I think understandably he was getting suspicious and by the end, we were all extremely suspicious of this woman,” Harri was quoted as saying.

He also claimed that Gray was in contact with the Labour Party while still working on the partygatereport at the Cabinet Office.

There have been reports that Sue Gray is planning to join Keir Starmer, Leader of the Labour Party, as his chief of staff.

However, Labour has repeatedly denied the idea that the party approached Gray about the job while she was working on the partygate report, which got concluded in May 2022.

“She wants to work for Keir Starmer [Leader of Labour Party]. She must have been talking to him at the time when she was meant to deliver a quasi-judicial verdict on Boris Johnson.”

Harri questioned her impartiality saying, “It turned out she was advised by a card-carrying Labour barrister who was on social media recruiting people to the Labour Party.”

He further alleged that she had a press officer who leaked details of the partygate investigation.

“It took me weeks to realise where leaks were coming from … Journalists told me afterwards, ‘You got that guy moved, you destroyed a great source of stories for us’,” he said.

When Harri was asked how Johnson described Gray, he said, “One word that will be recurring in it – psycho Sue Gray, would be part of it.”

He further claimed that there was “showdown” between Johnson and King Charles over the Rwanda asylum policy

“They did have a bit of a showdown … So it wasn’t a fight. Obviously, they didn’t square up to get in the ring. But Boris, rightly, challenged the unelected royal at the time,” he said.

When he was asked whether there was any chance of Johnson returning to power, Harri said that it was not realistic, but added that there was a possibility it could happen after the next general election.

(With inputs from agencies)

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