Sue Gray accused of ‘subverting cabinet’ over Belfast stadium bailout – The Times

Sue Gray accused of ‘subverting cabinet’ over Belfast stadium bailout – The Times

Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff accused of dominating talks over a £310m payment to rebuild Casement Park in time for Euro 2028

Gabriel Pogrund, Patrick Maguire
Tuesday July 16 2024, 8.10pm BST, The Times

Sue Gray, who rose to fame when she led the official inquiry into the Downing Street parties scandal, ran a pub in Northern Ireland during the Troubles

Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff has been accused of “subverting” cabinet ministers in an effort to secure a government bailout of up to £310 million to rebuild a derelict stadium in Belfast.

Sue Gray has angered government officials and ministers by “personally dominating” negotiations for a bailout for Casement Park, a dilapidated Gaelic games venue due to host matches at the 2028 European football championship.

Gray’s close interest in the project, which is politically contentious in Northern Ireland, has caused resentment among Labour ministers who have been told there is no money for new spending commitments.

The row is also likely to invite new scrutiny of Gray’s personal and political links to Northern Ireland, where she maintains a home, ran a pub at the height of the Troubles, and whose finance department she ran between 2018 and 2021.

A Stormont source familiar with discussions about the bailout described Gray as “very close” to Conor Murphy, the Sinn Fein finance minister whose party has led calls for a bailout.

Her involvement has deepened concerns in government about the scope of Gray’s remit, with a Whitehall source criticising her involvement as “an unelected member of staff spending public money on an area of interest to them, subverting cabinet”.

“It’s constitutionally improper,” the source added. Another person involved in conversations about the stadium suggested Gray had shown a closer interest in Casement Park than in the province’s health service. It is understood no public money has been spent on the stadium.

The ground is the only Northern Irish venue due to host matches at the tournament, which will be co-hosted by England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Many in government fear the scale of the work needed to revive the stadium means it could become a “white elephant” that will not be completed in time.

Government sources said Gray, who is thought to be on a salary of up to £144,000, was pushing for the government to announce new funding as early as this week, a deadline Downing Street has indicated will not be met.

It is not the first time Gray has found herself at the centre of controversy.

A career civil servant, Gray rose to prominence as director general of the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team, overseeing investigations into accusations of ministerial sleaze.

The partygate scandal elevated her to a household name, conducting the official inquiry into unlawful lockdown gatherings in Downing Street. Her eventual report found a failure of leadership in No 10 and is cited by allies of Boris Johnson as having played a decisive role in his resignation.

She quit the civil service in March last year to join Starmer’s team, prompting controversy and a Cabinet Office inquiry that found she had broken the civil service code. Acoba, the appointments watchdog, later sanctioned her appointment.
In the role, she has been credited with professionalising Starmer’s operation and integrating the then shadow cabinet, now cabinet, into decision-making. She has, however, alienated some with her no-nonsense approach: this year she is said to have left staff in tears after a “heavy-handed” leak inquiry.

Downing Street sources said that no decision on the future of Casement Park had been made and an announcement was not imminent. They said suggestions Gray was “personally dominating” negotiations were overblown.

Michelle O’Neill, the Sinn Fein first minister, has nonetheless vowed to ensure the stadium is built “on her watch” and said on Sunday evening: “The next time a ball is kicked for the European Championship, it could be in Casement Park.”
Northern Ireland Office insiders point out that no contract has been awarded for the construction of the 34,500-seat facility — whose cost has ballooned from £73 million to £310 million since Casement Park’s closure in 2013.

A construction firm withdrew last year, citing the “passage of time” and spiralling costs. It is thought work will need to begin by the autumn at the latest for the stadium to be ready in time.
Between them Stormont’s power-sharing executive, the Irish government and the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) have pledged only £42 million to the rebuild.

Starmer pledged to resolve the impasse on his first visit to Northern Ireland as prime minister this month. He said at Stormont: “A number of issues were discussed this morning and as you would expect, finance came up, the health service came up, Casement Park came up. We addressed those constructively. I understand the case in relation to investment and financing in particular. We will work to resolve those issues constructively.”

Assembly members who met the prime minister said he had made no concrete commitment to covering the entirety of the shortfall.

Starmer is likely to discuss the spiralling costs of the project with Simon Harris, the Irish taoiseach, when the two men meet on Wednesday. Harris signalled last weekend that his government could increase the size of its contribution to avoid the “missed opportunity” of Euro 2028 games not taking place in Northern Ireland.

Old divides flare up in stadium furore

The selection of Casement Park as a venue for Euro 2028 has been a cause of division in Northern Irish football from the day it was chosen (Martyn Ziegler writes).

Those backing the choice say it is the only way Northern Ireland would be able to host matches in an international football tournament, and would redevelop a crumbling ground that has been derelict for ten years in an area crying out for investment.

Others, including official Northern Ireland fans’ groups, are deeply opposed. That is particularly the case among unionists, because Casement Park is a Gaelic football stadium in a republican area.

Banners proclaiming “No Casement” were unfurled by fans at Northern Ireland’s matches against San Marino and Slovenia last autumn; a poll for the Belfast Telegraph showed 54 per cent of people backed having Euro 2028 matches at Casement Park but 31 per cent were against — with seven out of ten unionists saying they were against games being played there.

The Amalgamation of Northern Ireland Supporters Clubs (AONISC) has opposed the choice of venue on the basis that Casement Park will benefit a rival sport, with only four football matches played there before it returns to Gaelic football and hurling. It also said some fans had expressed worries about not feeling safe travelling to the area.

With a capacity of 18,500, Windsor Park — Northern Ireland’s biggest stadium — is too small to host Euros matches. In November, Patrick Nelson, the chief executive of the Irish FA, ruled out any prospect of Windsor Park being expanded.

With time running out, the Irish FA, which runs football in Northern Ireland, has been hoping for a rescue package. The Tory government had promised funding for the redevelopment — the cost of which was originally stated to be £73 million but has now multiplied — but it never materialised.

The Irish FA chief admitted this year there was a “disparity of views” but described it as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to show the world what a wonderful country Northern Ireland is”. He also confirmed there would be no plans to play football at Casement Park beyond the Euros.

Sue Gray’s involvement is unlikely to be a unifying factor. The fact she and her husband ran a pub during the Troubles a short drive from the border with the Republic of Ireland is viewed with suspicion by those opposing the plan.

Uefa is unlikely to intervene: there is already a contingency plan to split Belfast’s four matches, with a game each going to Wembley Stadium, Cardiff, Dublin and Hampden Park in Glasgow.
An extra match at Wembley in particular would deliver considerably more to Uefa in terms of ticket sales and hospitality income.