Keir Starmer refuses to address Sue Gray's 2-week absence since quitting No10

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to confirm whether his ousted chief of staff Sue Gray would take up her new role.

She has yet to start her new role as the Prime Minister's regional envoy more than two weeks after quitting amid rows over pay and donations.

When Sir Keir was asked whether things had improved since his reset in No10, he said: "Well I'm pleased I've got a good team in place and I'm happy about that."

When pressed on whether Ms Gray would be in post, he said: "I'm not going to talk about individual members of staff, I never have and I'm not going to now."

The former civil servant did not make an appearance at the first summit between the Government and leaders from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the English regions in Edinburgh earlier this month.

Asked why she would not be attending the summit of UK regional and national leaders, Pat McFadden - the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster - said: "Sue has been through quite a lot in the last few weeks."

It remains unclear whether Ms Gray will continue being paid while she is taking time away from work.

The Cabinet Office has also yet to set out details of Ms Gray's role shortly, after mounting questions over the specifics of the job.

Ms Gray was replaced by Sir Keir's loyal aide Morgan McSweeney.

The former senior civil servant with decades of Whitehall experience, blamed "intense commentary about my position" that risked becoming a "distraction" when she stood down.