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A dispute has erupted in the heart of Downing Street when one of Boris Johnson’s top aides, and a close ally of Dominic Cummings, resigned amid bitter infighting.
Lee Cain announced that he would step down as communications director Wednesday night after ministers and advisers, including Johnson’s fiancee Carrie Symonds, are said to have protested his planned promotion to chief of staff.
Cain’s resignation also cast doubt on the future of Cummings, Johnson’s most important and high-profile adviser, and an insider told The Guardian he could leave No. 10 with Cain.
Cummings was said to be furious that Cain, a fellow in the Vote Leave campaign who was partly credited with getting him to No. 10, had effectively been expelled. There was also speculation about other possible deviations from Johnson’s inner circle. Meanwhile, some Conservative MPs were encouraged by the upheaval, with one saying it was an opportunity for Johnson to “get out of control of these people.”
The row appears to reflect internal confusion and dysfunction at No. 10 at a time when the UK surpassed 50,000 coronavirus deaths, according to official figures.
Critics of the administration have repeatedly cited how tensions between high-ranking members of Johnson’s team, and his refusal to fire Cummings earlier this year, have hampered the country’s efforts to overcome the pandemic.
When the internal disputes were made public Wednesday, the degree of division and disagreement emerged within Johnson’s senior team.
About a week ago, Johnson offered the new position of chief of staff to Cain, 39, who was long regarded as one of his most loyal and discreet employees, and the advisor had been considering whether to take it.
Friends indicated that Cain had been considering leaving Downing Street “once the government had gotten over the Covid hump,” partly due to the relentless nature of the work and also due to clashes with incoming Downing Street spokeswoman Allegra Stratton. , until Johnson made his unexpected offer.
Cain is known to have been uncomfortable with the choice of Stratton, also 39, as press secretary and had previously clashed with Symonds.
His belligerent style with MPs and special advisers meant that several voiced outrage at the number 10 over his possible promotion, which would have made him one of three key people in the prime minister’s inner circle, along with Cummings and the secretary. Cabinet Simon Case.
Allies of Cain said he had been acting as an effective chief of staff for some time, participating in important strategic decisions, including a Damas summit in April on easing the blockade.
The special advisers’ WhatsApp groups were “nuclear” Wednesday night, a Whitehall source said, with several speculating about what Cain’s departure could mean for the planned communications shakeup at Westminster.
Several conservative deputies expressed their satisfaction with the dispute. One deputy said it was “an opportunity to get old Boris back and free him from the control of these people.” Another said deputies would be “over the moon” if Cummings left as well.
Cain will drop No. 10 at the end of the year, saying he had made the decision “after careful consideration.” It is understood that he met Johnson in Downing Street on Wednesday night, but ultimately decided to go.
“It has been a privilege to serve as an advisor to Mr. 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. serve as the prime minister’s chief of staff, ”he said.
“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. I have no doubt that under his leadership, the country will fulfill the promises made in the 2019 election campaign and will better rebuild from the coronavirus pandemic. “
James Slack, the prime minister’s official spokesman and former political editor of the Daily Mail, will take over as communications director.
Allies of Cain said she had taken time off over the past few days to consider her position, described by a friend as a “circuit breaker.” The comment was made as a joke, but it was also a nod to the pressure Cain had been under.
Cain is a longtime adviser to Johnson, including during his time as foreign secretary and while he was on the subsequent banks after his resignation. The pair are particularly close, with Cain remaining loyal to Johnson even as the former London mayor’s star seemed to be fading among the Tories.
A former Daily Mirror journalist who once dressed up as a chicken to poke fun at Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, Cain has been close to Cummings from his time on the Vote Leave campaign, and is partly credited with bringing him to Downing Street.
A new chief of staff is expected to take over the day-to-day running of the Downing Street operation, currently overseen by Cummings, to allow him to step back and focus on key policy goals such as Whitehall reform.
Cummings’ trip to Durham from London at the height of lockdown in the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and Johnson’s refusal to fire him as a result, turned into one of the biggest government crises of the year. It was revealed following an investigation by The Guardian and Daily Mirror.
Critics said the prime minister was so reliant on Cummings, who vowed to reform the civil service and hire “weirdos and misfits” to join Team No. 10, that he risked the ire of the public and Tory MPs instead. to lose at its highest level. assistant.
A former Whitehall colleague of Cain’s said: “The secondary banks will be glad to see a broader group of people influencing the prime minister and No. 10. Lee Cain was not exactly a popular figure with MPs, although that was owes entirely to his ties to Dom.
“I don’t think anyone will be happy that there is this upheaval in the middle of a pandemic. But James Slack is much more popular, people will be so relieved to see that appointment. “
Johnson paid tribute to Cain and said he will be greatly missed. “‘I want to thank Lee for his extraordinary service to the government over the past four years,” he said. “He has been a true ally and friend and I am delighted that he will continue to be the communications director until the new year and that he will help restructure the operation. We will miss him very much. “
A Labor spokesman said: “The day the UK became the first country in Europe to report 50,000 coronavirus deaths and the public suffered another lockdown, the Boris Johnson government is fighting like rats in a sack for who gets what. job.
“It is precisely this lack of focus and incompetence of rank that has held Britain back. The public deserves better than this incompetent and divided conservative government. “
