Liz Truss has begun building her Number 10 team ahead of her Cabinet reshuffle this afternoon, with Steven Swinford getting the briefing. Here’s how it’s shaping up:
Guido’s beginning to populate the newly-cleared out SpAd list, reflecting the news that the Policy Unit, Data Unit, Legislative Affairs and Delivery Unit have now been moved out of Downing Street and into the Cabinet Office’s ‘Economic & Domestic Secretariat’. See the list in full below:
Rachel Johnson speaking to Nick Ferrari on LBC just now after Boris left Downing Street for the last time:
“In the last fifteen minutes of his time in Number 10, you would think he’d be off in a side room reading his notes… Jacob [Rees-Mogg] and his son Peter asked for a photograph, Nadine [Dorries] asked for a photograph, which was all great, but you know, he obliged. There were bacon sandwiches, and someone said ‘no, the food’s never worth eating in Number 10… and then we were all taken out and put in our places… and that was it.”
Boris’s plane is currently in the air, destined for Balmoral:
Boris Johnson and wife Carrie board plane to Aberdeenshire
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) September 6, 2022
The outgoing PM will see the Queen in Balmoral and formally resignhttps://t.co/QYvkrw8bLx pic.twitter.com/nfHHV7Kqda
He just flew over Rishi’s constituency around ten minutes ago…
Hard political times over the last few years clearly left tired and stressed Downing Street staffers reaching for the tissues at times, though not to console an emotional Theresa May. New Freedom of Information request data seen by Guido reveals devices logged into No. 10’s wifi attempted to access hardcore porn websites 2,300 times in the three years between November 2016 and November 2019. For some reason the data stops after Boris moved in…
While the vast majority of attempted r-rated visits came from “guest” devices – what No. 10 attributes to “non-civil servants who are present in the building for various events, such as training.”, 94 of the 2,300 attempts came from full-time employees. The FoI request specified visits to sites including Pornhub, Redtube, Xhamster, Youporn, extremetube and literotica – the last of which proved most popular with 637 successful viewings during the three years…
Given the data covers almost all of Theresa May’s time in office, it’s ironic that a ministry attempting to introduce an internet porn ban completely failed to keep its own affairs in order: despite the Cabinet Office claiming there are filters in place to ban access to adult sites, Guido’s sums show 63% of the requests slipped through the net. Guido guesses Philip had to keep himself occupied somehow…
With the departure of Dominic Cummings from Downing Street today, and Lee Cain’s Director of Communication’s role going to Downing Street spokesman James Slack, all eyes are pointing at who will step into Dom’s shoes as de facto Chief of Staff at Number 10. A tricky gig, which would both have to ensure smooth running of Number 10 and warm frosty relations with the parliamentary party. Skill set also required: top flight administrator; diplomatic with people; able to work long, regular hours; exist to serve the PM, not advance their own agenda. Guido brings you some potential runners and riders names that are being bandied about with varying degrees of (im)plausibility…
Dom’s exit today piles on the pressure to find a replacement… Sir Edward Lister is the interim Chief of Staff.
Guido understands that a final five candidates have been whittled down from a larger pool of applications to become the first No. 10 press spokesman for the much anticipated White House-style daily briefings. Guido understands that work on the briefing room in 9 Downing Street is already underway to make it TV-ready…
Initially, televised briefings were expected to start in Autumn, yet now it looks as if they could be delayed until after Christmas. Downing Street are keeping tight-lipped about timing, suggesting recruitment isn’t going as smoothly as they thought it would. A couple of rejections by female hacks have already been rumoured…
Allegra Stratton remains the bookies’ favourite, ITV reporter turned SpAd, Angus Walker’s name is being put about, Camilla Tominey is 20/1 if you think she would contemplate leaving Telegraph Towers – save your money is Guido’s advice. Quite a few names at the bookies might be worth laying…
While the rest of the country enjoyed the sunshine from home on the VE Day bank holiday, the Prime Minister and his team bucked down to work on the next phase of lockdown over milkshakes and burgers from Five Guys. The bemused daughter of a deliveroo driver who found himself delivering to Downing Street shared the calorific order with her TikTok following:
Boris and his team munched away on a milkshakes, cheeseburgers, an all beef hotdog, several portions of chips (both regular and cajun style) as well as a veggie sandwich, while crafting what to put in Sunday’s statement. The sugar rush is sure to have helped the team to Stay Alert…