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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s communications director, Lee Cain, has drastically resigned amid signs of a bitter power struggle in Downing Street.
In a statement, the former journalist said that after “careful consideration” he had decided to drop number 10 at the end of the year.
Cain, a former journalist, once dressed in a chicken costume while working for the Mirror newspaper during the 2010 British election campaign.
He wrote at the time: “It all started when I heard that for six months David Cameron had flinched at answering questions from Mirror reporters, which, frankly, was giving my species a bad name.
“Conservatives like to speak what is said, but they cannot shout.”
Tonight’s surprise move comes less than 24 hours after it was reported that he was to be promoted to the key position of Johnson’s chief of staff.
Cain was a close ally of Dominic Cummings, the UK prime minister’s top adviser, having worked with him on the Brexit campaign.
The appointment was seen as consolidating control of the old Vote Leave team at the top of Downing Street.
However, it sparked an immediate backlash with Johnson’s fiancee Carrie Symonds, who allegedly opposed the move.
In a statement announcing his resignation, Cain said he was leaving despite being offered the position of chief of staff.
“After careful consideration, tonight I resigned as the 10th communications director and will step down at the end of the year,” he said.
“It has been a privilege to serve as an advisor to Johnson for the past three years, to be part of a team that helped him win the Conservative leadership contest, to secure the largest Conservative majority for three decades, and it was an honor to be asked to serve as chief of staff to the prime minister.
“I would like to thank the entire team at # 10, including the many unknown and incredibly talented civil servants, for their hard work and support over the past 18 months.
“And above all, I would like to thank the Prime Minister for his loyalty and leadership.”
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