Top Tories locked in bitter feud over spin doctor’s links to Gove
A FIERCE battle emerged last night between a No 10 aide caught in a porn row and a Tory spin doctor with close links to Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.
Carrie Symonds is fighting moves to sack her as the party’s communications chief over claims that she spends too much time promoting the Brexit-backing Ministers and not enough time promoting Theresa May.
The dispute took an extraordinary turn last week when Mrs May’s Chief of Staff Gavin Barwell – who is leading efforts to overhaul Tory HQ – was embarrassed after he replied to a tweet concerning hardcore pornographic videos.
Mr Barwell has apologised and there is no suggestion of a connection between the Conservative HQ upheaval and his embarrassment.
However, the developments come amid an acrimonious power struggle in the party as divisions over Brexit and Mrs May’s leadership threaten to wreck its campaign for vital town hall elections in May.
If, as many Conservative MPs fear, the Tories lose seats to Labour, Mrs May could be forced to resign. When she made Brandon Lewis the party chairman in the recent reshuffle, she ordered him to prevent a repeat of Tory HQ’s ‘shambolic’ campaign in last year’s Election. Ms Symonds has been targeted as part of the shakeup after some senior Tories claimed she had become too politically close to Brexiteers Mr Johnson and Mr Gove. Conservative MP supporters of both men are believed to be plotting Mrs May’s downfall. Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed a new pro-Gove WhatsApp group called Phoenix. Members say the title is a ‘coincidence’ and does not imply Mr Gove is planning to rise again after his disastrous leadership bid in 2016.
Ms Symonds, a Phoenix member, was photographed chatting with Mr Gove at the Conservative Black and White Ball ten days ago. She is a former aide to another Brexit hardliner, ex-Cabinet Minister John Whittingdale.
A Tory source said: ‘Theresa badly needs a strong and united team at Tory HQ. We cannot go on with the current shambles. Changes must be made.’
But a friend of Ms Symonds said: ‘Carrie is 100 per cent loyal to the PM, is excellent at her job and is working flat out to ensure the party does well in May. It is absurd to blame her for the party’s troubles. Michael and Boris are determined she stays.’