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The woman appointed by Boris Johnson to run his daily press operations was left in tears on Saturday after she claimed to have been the subject of negative reporting by a former No. 10 official who resigned last week and made a dramatic exit from Downing Street.
In an extraordinary escalation of disputes involving Johnson’s new and outgoing aides, friends of Allegra Stratton, the prime minister’s new press secretary, said she had been “crying all morning” as a result of what she believed they were. Johnson’s critical reports. former communications director, Lee Cain.
Stratton, who will be the government’s public face, believes that Cain told numerous journalists over the past 24 hours that she was not the first choice for the job and had not been at the top of the list of a panel chosen to fill. a prominent place. appointment. Cain is a close ally of Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s former closest adviser, who also resigned last week and was asked to leave on Friday.
The news came as Cummings and Cain’s allies said their enemies in government were “determined to set fire to [Johnson’s] Prime Minister ”with a“ tsunami of toxic reports ”that would ultimately undermine the government. Another government figure said, “It’s a bloodbath, right?”
Stratton, a former guardian and the television journalist working for the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, before being appointed by Johnson, was said to be deeply distraught, as her reason for taking the job was to help restore civility and some order to Downing Street. A close friend of Stratton said: “Allegra is very upset. It was the prime minister who asked him to do the job several times. She did not request to do so, but Johnson appealed to her sense of public duty.
“He wants to broaden the appeal of this government. He likes and respects Johnson. But she thinks that this government to date has managed to make enemies and crossed the path to seek fights, that this government has reduced its appeal and should be better. ” Stratton later told the Observer: “Yes, I’m upset that I was just trying to do the right thing for the country. And the country doesn’t want to be run by people at No. 10 who treat people rudely and unpleasantly. “
His decision to break coverage follows an extraordinary week in which Cummings, Johnson’s closest but most controversial adviser, and Cain, the prime minister’s communications director, resigned and Johnson urged them to leave Downing Street without delay on Friday. . The move followed disputes over government ad leaks and premature claims, reported in some outlets, that Cain would become Johnson’s new chief of staff. Another friend of Stratton’s said she believed Cain “was telling reporters that she wasn’t the first in line for work… that they didn’t want her. There has been a tug of war between her, Lee and Dom. “
It is understood that Stratton made it clear throughout discussions of her appointment that she would not serve with Cain, due to what she saw as his abrupt style and treatment of young advisers. His decision to make a public statement before the daily briefings begin is proof of the seriousness of the internal war within No. 10.
Allies of Cain said Saturday night that it had “never reported against anyone” and added that the former communications director “had always been clear that Allegra had been the prime minister’s first choice.”
However, supporters for Cummings and Cain noted that she had performed worse than other candidates in interviews and did not impress the focus groups as much as others. High-level sources at No. 10 made it clear on Saturday night that the prime minister is now preparing for big changes to his teams both in Downing Street and in the cabinet, with a ministerial shakeup “in January, or perhaps sooner. “.
“We have to strengthen the cabinet and fill the positions that are vacant for there to be changes,” said one. According to a government source, Johnson was warned that Stratton’s appointment would represent “cronyism” because of his friendship with Carrie Symonds, the prime minister’s fiancee and former conservative communications director. An opponent of Stratton’s appointment said Ellie Price, the BBC journalist, was “far ahead of the other candidates” during an official selection process for the post. Despite Cummings and Cain’s departure, Johnson is understood to have told a group of officials in Downing Street that he wanted “the gang to get back together” by the 2024 election.
Cain resigned following the consequences of Stratton’s appointment. It is understood that the prime minister tried to reverse the decision and offered him the post of chief of staff, but Cain resigned after news of the job offer leaked.
Insiders said there was visible unrest among the prime minister’s team as the aftermath continued, with aides desperately calling out to make sure there were no more resignations. “This is bloody even by Westminster standards,” said a Whitehall figure. “It is almost embarrassing. The person who suffers is the prime minister, who is a good man who tries to do very difficult things. This is a huge distraction. “
