Harry Cole – our Westminster Bureau Chief better known to readers as Neo-Guido – is off to join The Sun as their Westminster Correspondent. Craig Woodhouse becomes The Sun’s Chief Political Correspondent.

Harry joined Guido in 2008 as an intern on the back of his Tory Bear blog, where he completely ripped off Guido’s modus operandi to take on student politicians – some of whom are now in parliament. He stayed for the summer and after graduating decided not to follow a career in the law and instead become a media outlaw. Coming back in 2009 to enjoy that glorious period of MP bashing known as the Expenses Scandal. He always planned to stay for a year-or-so before getting a proper job… 

Harry’s considerable charm and panache more than compensated for his idiosyncratic early writing style, which Guido would describe as “after-dinner-speech”, this however allowed him to  branch out into writing for the Spectator. He’s also been writing for mainstream media tabloids for years – it is no small skill be able to write well received features for The Spectator and the tightly written popular journalism that has seen Guido’s Sun column contract renewed for three years – winning him fans at The Sun to such an extent that they have poached him. It is no exaggeration to say that the success of Guido over the last 6 years is in large part down to Harry. The puns, the fun, the ability to get a story – often after an inexplicably long lunch – brilliance.

Harry’s new colleagues in parliament will no doubt appreciate and welcome his strong views, as expressed to the Press Gazette, on morally bankrupt Lobby journalism. How he came to be woken up from kipping overnight on a sofa by a Permanent Secretary at 7 a.m. in the Secretary of State’s private ministerial office will always remain our secret. Yes, we are hiring…