Civil Servant Who Handed Boris Diaries to Police is Found to be Related to Harriet Harman

The Express newspaper has revealed that top Cabinet office civil servant Alex Chisholm, who was 'used' to refer Boris Johnson to the police, is related by marriage to Harriet Harman.

The Express wrote that the "familial tie is yet another link between the top Government department at the heart of the Party-gate saga, sparking new questions about the neutrality and independence of the civil service".

Last week, Alex Chisholm handed Boris Johnson's diaries over to both the Metropolitan Police and Thames Valley police amid allegations from Government lawyers that visits to Mr Johnson's grace-and-favour mansion Chequers had broken Covid rules.

Mr Chisholm also oversaw the handover of the diaries to Ms Harman's Privileges Committee, which is investigating whether the former PM 'recklessly' misled Parliament over lock-down parties.

Yet, what has gone unnoticed, up until now, is that the correspondence between the top civil servant and Harriet Harman was in fact a family affair.' the Express wrote. 'Research by The Express shows that Alex Chisholm is married to the cousin of Harriet Harman.

Mr Chisholm wed Eliza Pakenham in 1993, the granddaughter of Frank Pakenham and Elizabeth Pakenham, née Harman.

Frank Pakenham was himself one of Labour's longest-serving politicians, holding several cabinet positions in Clement Attlee and Harold Wilson's Governments.

Elizabeth Pakenham, Mr Chisholm's grandmother-in-law, was the aunt of Harriet Harman.

A Tory source told the Express "Once again the Cabinet Office mask slips. Is there anyone working for the Cabinet Office who isn't related to a Labour politician, or sleeping with a left-wing activist journalist?" adding "The reckoning for the Cabinet Office is approaching – all that which is concocted in darkness will be brought into the light."

Nadine Dorries said the Express's revelation "further confirms that the Cabinet Office is using its ties to anti-Tory activists to stitch Boris Johnson up" and said it "must have consequences".

"Transparently biased civil servants are clearly colluding with anyone they can to trash Boris's reputation and hoping no one will notice." adding "Given what the Express has now revealed, Harriet Harman should recuse herself from the Privileges Committee kangaroo court. Failing that the Committee must completely reject the information Mr Chisholm handed to them."

Tory MP Mark Jenkinson told the Express "The tentacles of the Cabinet Office branch of the Labour Party reach far and wide it seems".

"It is clear that the Cabinet Office is now too tainted to be able to serve the Government impartially. Case needs to get a grip of his civil service and start clearing out from the top."

The latest revelation comes after it was revealed that Sue Gray, who was instrumental in Boris Johnson's ousting, was in talks with Labour leader Keir Starmer to work for him.

The party-gate inquisitor also showed her political bias when objecting to current PM Rish Sunak vetoing Scotland's new trans law, which are set to make it easier for over 16s to change their sex on their birth certificate.

The proposition sparked a furious political row, with women's rights campaigners warning it would mean biologically male prisoners being present in female prisons, posing a potential risk to biologically female inmates.

Government insiders now claim Ms Gray actively tried to kill off the plan behind the scenes in late December, further displaying her role as a 'pro-Labour, anti-Tory activist'.

A source told The Sun that Gray directly contacted political advisers to lobby against the move, at the same time that she was in talks with Labour to become Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff.

A Government insider said "We know the use of Section 35 embarrassed Starmer by highlighting Scottish Labour's support of putting men in women's prisons. Given Sue had already lined up her Labour job, was she already working for him in the heart of Government and seeking to save his blushes?"

Gray's move to work for Starmer is on hold while it is probed by Whitehall appointments watchdog ACOBA, who are expected to announce their decision in the coming weeks.

If the decision goes against Gray, she could be barred from taking up her new job until after the next election.