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:
- Mark Fullbrook – chief of staff
- Ruth Porter – special adviser
- Adam Jones – political director of communications
- Simon McGee – director of communications
- Jason Stein – special adviser, political
- lain Carter – director of strategy
- Jamie Hope – director of policy
- Jamie Harries – deputy director policy
- Matt Sinclair – chief economic adviser, policy unit Shabir Merali – economic adviser, policy unit
- Caroline Elsom – health adviser, policy unit
- Alex Boyd – energy, policy unit
- John Bew – foreign affairs
- Sophie Jarvis – political secretary
- Chris Jenkins – legal/ constitutional affairs
- Nick Catsaras – PPS to PM
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…
- Lord Frost
- Dom’s departure was originally scheduled to fit the conclusion of EU exit negotiations. Surely non-stop Frosty will want to get some rest before a huge new challenge…
- Nikki Da Costa
- The well thought of director of legislative affairs at Number 10, has the qualifications to be the next chief of staff. Would the gruelling long hours really suit someone with a young toddler?
- Cleo Watson, Henry Cook, or Katie Lam
- Any of the three current deputy chiefs of staff could feasibly step into the role. Vote Leave veteran Cleo is closer to Cummings than most. Henry and Katie are also eminently capable, and already know the brief…
- Syed Kamall
- Former leader of the ECR group in the European Parliament, and Brexit-backing Tory MEP. Well liked and sound as a pound. Kamall has been Research Director at the IEA since 2019 so his appointment would set certain Guardian journalists alight with rage…
- David Canzini
- Veteran of Boris’s leadership campaign, now at Lynton Crosby’s firm CTF. Solid operator.
- Henry Newman
- Closer to the ‘Carrie side’ of Downing Street than many of those associated with Vote Leave, the long-time Gove SpAd could build bridges between warring factions. Although Boris may be wary of building up the Gove power base…
- Isaac Levido
- The mastermind of the seismic 2019 Tory landslide was drafted in at the start of the pandemic before returning to his new start-up. Levido strikes Guido as a campaign manager rather than an office manager…
- Andrew Feldman
- Former Chairman of the Conservative Party and Cameroon. Been (near) there, got the T-shirt… unlikely given he is coining it back in the private sector.
- Robbie Gibb
- Respected by the party, Robbie served as Downing Street Comms chief from 2017-2019. Very busy in the private sector, can’t see him rushing back to Downing Street…
Sajid Javid- A name from the school of thought that believes the post should go to an MP to help soothe backbench relations. Carrie was his SpAd. Would please party though it would make things awkward at Number 11. Chris Hope reckons Saj wants the job. Against is that Saj is keen on seeing his children and would also have to quit those lucrative outside interests he has just signed up to…
- UPDATE: Guido is firmly told that people are confusing Saj’s advocacy of a Chief of Staff role in Downing Street in principle, with a desire for the job. Ain’t gonna happen.
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…
