CARRIE’S IN CONTROL
PM’S FIANCEE AND FEMALE ALLIES ‘BLOCK THE PROMOTION OF MEDIA BOSS LEE CAIN’
CARRIE SYMONDS helped oust one of Boris Johnson’s most powerful allies after teaming up with Downing Street women, it was claimed yesterday. No.10 was in turmoil as media boss Lee Cain walked out after the prime minister’s fiancée allegedly blocked his promotion to become chief of staff.
The move would have left men in all the top jobs but Ms Symonds is said to have halted it after ‘swapping notes’ with Mr Cain’s rivals. Allegra Stratton – who will front No.10 press briefings from January – had apparently not spoken with Mr Cain since being hired last month and sources say she was furious at t the prospect of him becoming boss. Home secretary Priti Patel and policy chief Munira Mirza are also said to have weighed in against the abrasive media chief after Ms Symonds accused him of bungling the response to the coronavirus pandemic. ‘There’s not a diversity of opinion; Boris is not getting good advice,’ a friend of Ms Symonds told the Times. ‘His top advisers are running him into the ground.’
Ms Symonds, 32, is a former head of communications for the Conservatives. She is said to have clashed with Mr Cain when he handled the aftermath of her row with the PM, which led to police being called to their south London home in June last year.
Many Tory MPs were furious at the plan to promote the former Vote Leave press officer, who has worked for Mr Johnson since 2017.
Amid the speculation over his sudden exit, backbencher Sir Roger Gale said: ‘This is a distraction that cannot and should not be allowed to take place, and the prime minister has got to get a grip on it.’
The resignation of Mr Cain – who was a key Downing Street ally of
Dominic Cummings – leaves the PM’s chief adviser in a perilous position.
‘For my money Cummings is a liability and what the prime minister needs and deserves is a first-rate chief of staff who is a serious heavyweight. I think the expression currently in use is big boy pants,’ said Sir Roger.
Mr Cain, 39, gained notoriety working for the Daily Mirror in 2010 when he arrived at election campaign events dressed as a chicken to taunt Tories for not answering difficult questions.
He is thought responsible for the government boycotting difficult interviews with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
The prime minister thanked Mr Cain yesterday for his ‘extraordinary service’, adding: ‘He has been a true ally and friend.’
But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer blasted: ‘We’re in the middle of a pandemic; we’re all worried about our health and our families; we’re all worried about our jobs, and this lot are squabbling behind the door of No.10.
‘It’s pathetic. Pull yourselves together.’