Fallon leads the cheering as May’s toxic aides quit
SIR Michael Fallon yesterday said he ‘welcomed’ the resignation of Theresa
May’s aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill. The Defence Secretary made it clear he was one of the ministers who backed their departure after claims that they had created a ‘toxic’ environment in Downing Street.
Referring to the PM’s former joint ciefs of staff, he said he ‘welcomed’ changes in personnel in Number 10, adding: ‘It’s going to require a different approach.’
He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show: ‘We’re going to see, I hope, more collective decision-making in the Cabinet.’
His comments came after the pair – who each earned £140,000 – bowed to pressure from senior Tories and resigned on Saturday. They were widely disliked in Whitehall, and had faced criticism over their role in the Tory election campaign. Miss Hill was seen as one of the PM’s closest confidants having spent four years working for her at the Home Office.
Mr Timothy, who joined the Tories at 17 and was thought of as fiercely anti-establishment, also advised Mrs May when she was at the Home Office.
They resigned on Saturday after being blamed for the disastrous Tory manifesto which included the hurriedly introduced ‘dementia tax’ without consultation.
Their resignations came after a former aide to the PM said they had created a ‘toxic’ environment in Downing Street.
Katie Perrior, who quit her role as direc- tor of communications in April after ten months, said they had bullied Cabinet ministers and sent ‘rude text messages’.
She added: ‘ There was not enough respect shown to people who had spent 20 years in office or 20 years getting to the top seat in government.
‘What the PM needs when you’re going through a tough time like negotiating Brexit is diplomats, not street fighters.’
But their departure would leave the PM ‘humiliated and alone’, according to Joey Jones, her former spokesman. He told PoliticsHome: ‘Theresa May without Nick and Fi will be a hollowed-out figure. She has no power, she has no authority.’