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Downing Street fell to bitter recriminations Wednesday after Boris Johnson’s controversial plan to reconfigure his 10th operation with a new chief of staff.
Lee Cain, a longtime ally of the UK prime minister and 10th communications director, has been in talks about a new position for several weeks, according to people with knowledge of the talks.
Tensions have risen dramatically at No. 10 following the appointment of Allegra Stratton, former journalist and adviser to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, to become Johnson’s spokesperson in the new “White House-style” televised daily briefings.
Stratton insisted that he will take office only if he answers directly to the prime minister, not Mr. Cain, several people familiar with the situation said. According to his allies, Cain feared he would be sidelined because of what many Conservative MPs have called Downing Street’s “chaotic” media performance during the Covid crisis.
His appointment was made over the heads of Cain and Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s senior adviser, who have resented his accessibility and style.
Cain, a former tabloid journalist who was a prominent figure in the Vote Leave campaign during the 2016 Brexit referendum, has taken an abrasive approach to the media. However, Stratton has told colleagues that he wants to adopt a less controversial style. Connoisseurs of the number 10 said that his relationships with Ms. Stratton are “dire.” Stratton declined to comment.
A well-placed Whitehall official said Number 10 had become a “nest of vipers,” adding that “everything is collapsing there, it’s much worse than the outside world realizes. Also, doing it in the middle of a pandemic is a total disgrace ”.
People close to the prime minister confirmed that Cain had conversations with Johnson about the role of the chief of staff, while other members of Number 10 insisted that no formal agreement was reached. “Boris hasn’t signed this at all,” said one.
Cain’s possible appointment as chief of staff came after journalists asked Downing Street about claims related to a leak of Johnson’s decision to place England in another coronavirus lockdown earlier this month.
A Whitehall official said the prime minister was “apoplectic and apocalyptically angry” at the leak, which appeared before he made a final decision on the measures.
The investigation, overseen by Cabinet Undersecretary Helen MacNamara, has narrowed its focus from ministers to special advisers, including those from Downing Street, authorities said.
Some ministers believe the news of Cain’s possible rise, reported by The Times on Wednesday, was part of an attempt to force Johnson to sign the appointment.
The suggestion of Cain’s rise sparked a “full-scale rebellion,” in the words of a senior conservative, with ministers, parliamentarians and officials expressing concern to Mr. Johnson that he was not a good fit for the job.
High-level government figures said Carrie Symonds, Johnson’s fiancee and a former senior conservative adviser, has privately argued against the appointment. “You don’t see how your installation would improve things,” said an aide.
“Cain is now in grave danger, there are also serious doubts in Boris’s mind about Dom [Cummings] too, ”said a senior Conservative official.
A senior Whitehall figure suggested Cain resigned last week after uncertainty about his future. Cain, seen by some in conservative circles as an unlikely appointment to the prestigious post of chief of staff given previous incumbents, declined to comment.
Some Tory MPs, who feel Cain and Cummings treat the parliamentary party with contempt, complained Wednesday to head whip Mark Spencer. Spencer’s allies declined to comment.
Cain’s disputed appointment as Johnson’s chief of staff has also alarmed some conservative women, who say it would leave Johnson surrounded by an all-male support team, including Cummings and Simon Case, the cabinet secretary.
“Does the prime minister think it is appropriate?” Said a conservative official “All people with access to it would be men. That is not governing in the spirit of Biden-Harris. “
But Mr. Cain’s friends said his appointment had “broad approval” from special advisers across Whitehall “and argued that he was already doing some of the work.” Lee is already doing a lot for what the chief of staff is on. He cares a lot about Boris and wants to improve things, ”said an ally.
Another added: “Lee has spoken several times about what he is going to do after Christmas, once Brexit is delivered and the worst of Covid has passed. Either he moves to a new role or he leaves. “
