Sue Gray will not take up her post as the prime minister’s envoy to the nations and regions, it is understood.

She was initially appointed to the role after departing as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff last month, saying she risked becoming a distraction.

The government had previously said she was taking a short break before taking up her new position.

A Downing Street source told the BBC: “We think she has made the right decision.”

The news she would not take up the role was first reported by the Financial Times and the Guardian.