Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson will miss a second Downing Street press conference on Monday as Matt Hancock covers for the prime minister as he self-isolates. Downing Street had previously decided to hold press conferences on Monday and Thursday evenings until December 2. Last Thursday’s briefing was reportedly due to be cancelled last week following the resignation of […]

Dominic Cummings’ departure marks the “beginning of the end” for Boris Johnson, an ally of the prime minister has warned. According to the Mail on Sunday, supporters of Johnson now fear that the former senior aide will lead to a “guerilla operation” from Cummings causing Brexiteers to destabilise the prime minister to make the way for […]

A lobbyist who secretly advised a health minister for six months was given unfettered access to private coronavirus meetings and later leaked sensitive information to clients. George Pascoe-Watson, who chairs the PR firm Portland Communications, advised Lord Bethell on Test and Trace strategy while still a Westminster lobbyist, a Sunday Times investigation has revealed. Portland Communications represents pharmaceutical companies, weapons […]

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has insisted he does not want the top job in government, saying that he “struggles enough” in the current job. In an interview with Lad Bible he denied he wanted to replace Boris Johnson. “Definitely not. I have enough of a struggle just trying to do the job that I have and keep my […]

Boris Johnson could miss Prime Minister’s Questions this week as he continues to self-isolate. Health secretary Matt Hancock said that he did not know what would happen for this week’s PMQs session. “I don’t know what will happen with PMQs and I know the parliamentary authorities are working on it,” he told Times Radio. “Actually […]

Boris Johnson is self-isolating after coming into contact with a Tory MP who tested positive for Covid-19, Downing Street has said. The prime minister is “well” and does not have any symptoms of the virus, according to a spokesman for Number 10. “The prime minister has today been notified by NHS Test and Trace that […]

The UK’s chief Brexit negotiator has said that a trade deal with the EU may not succeed but he is still hopeful of a resolution as the talks go down to the wire this week. Ahead of renewed negotiations as the clock ticks down to Britain exiting the EU withdrawal transition period at the end […]

The fallout of Dominic Cummings’ departure from government continues, with a newspaper claiming the aide said Johnson was “indecisive” and that Michael Gove was left to provide clarity on decisions. Cummings left his role after a power struggle that has rocked the administration, amid claims he had briefed against Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie […]

Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain will continue to work for the prime minister and Downing Street until mid-December, Number 10 has insisted. Boris Johnson’s senior adviser was seen leaving No 10 carrying boxes on Friday evening amid reports he had quit his post with immediate effect. Cummings and Cain, who resigned as communications chief, will still […]

Downing Street has revealed Dominic Cummings has resigned with immediate effect after pictures emerged of him appearing to clear his desk. The news comes after Boris Johnson’s senior adviser was seen leaving No 10 with what appeared to be a cardboard box full of belongings. The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reported that Cummings spoke to the […]

Liz Gerard’s question ‘Should we feel sorry for the PM?’ deserves a response. There is nothing about Boris Johnson and his premiership that can be commended. The Vote Leave regime that he leads is the architect of the hapless state of affairs in which we find ourselves and we haven’t even lived Brexit yet. He […]

Downing Street has denied reports there will be a softening of the UK’s position on Brexit following the departure of key Vote Leave officials from No 10. The prime minister’s official spokesman acknowledged time was “in short supply” if they were to get an agreement before the Brexit transition period expires at the end of the […]

Alastair Campbell has warned that Boris Johnson is “days away” from brokering a “terrible” Brexit deal now that his key adviser has announced his resignation. The New European‘s editor-at-large said the UK was on course to crash out of the Brexit transition period on January 1, or be subject to a ‘bad’ trade deal. Speaking on the news […]

A German MEP has claimed Downing Street is in a state of paralysis caused by Dominic Cummings’ announced departure and was now hindering Brexit trade talks. Manfred Weber, the leader of the largest party in the European parliament, said Downing Street was currently in a”chaotic situation” following the announcement. The prime minister’s adviser acknowledged on […]

A former board member of the pro-Brexit Vote Leave campaign has dismissed suggestions that Boris Johnson has too many Leavers in his government. Despite an attempt by Johnson to pack his cabinet with supporters of Brexit, and the prime minister’s inner circle containing key Vote Leave officials, a senior Tory MP has denied they have […]

A former adviser to Boris Johnson has delivered a withering assessment of Vote Leave’s impact on the prime minister’s ability to govern. Guto Harri, who was Johnson’s communications director when he was mayor of London, said the group of pro-Brexit advisers in Downing Street led by Dominic Cummings had long been undermining the prime minister’s office. Harri told […]

Brexiteers claim that “Remainers” in government are pushing for a one-year extension to the Brexit transition period, as the clock runs down in talks to secure a deal. The European Union has placed a “seven-day deadline” on talks ahead of an EU summit, with both sides reportedly discussing a “grace period” for Northern Ireland businesses as […]

Dominic Cummings was the adviser who refused to play by the rules of conventional politics and became no stranger to the spotlight. At the start of 2020, he wrote on his blog of wanting to become “much less important – and within a year largely redundant”, with reports suggesting his departure from Downing Street will […]

A senior Conservative MP is expecting a return of “respect, integrity and trust” in Downing Street after the resignation of Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings. Sir Bernard Benkin, the chairman of the Commons Liaison Committee, was asked to give his view after reports Cummings would leave the heart of the government at the end […]

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said that Dominic Cummings “will be missed” when he leaves No 10 but “advisers do come and go”. Asked why Boris Johnson’s chief adviser will be departing, Shapps told Sky News: “As he wrote right at the beginning of the year in his own words, he planned to make himself […]

Boris Johnson’s most senior adviser Dominic Cummings is reportedly set to leave his Downing Street position by the end of the year. Cummings told the BBC that “rumours of me threatening to resign are invented” after speculation that he would follow communications director Lee Cain in leaving Number 10. However, he said that his “position […]

Boris Johnson has been urged to get rid of the second “Kray Brother” running Downing Street in a warning about his senior aide Dominic Cummings. The prime minister has been told by senior Tories to “get a grip” after being left weakened by war in No 10 in the middle of the second Covid wave […]

DAVID BLUNKETT and MATTHEW FLINDERS warn that Dominic Cummings’ technocracy model for government lacks emotional and political understanding. They call for Boris Johnson to ditch it. If crises bring with them new opportunities to think afresh, then the combined impact of Brexit and COVID has been to focus attention on the capacity and structure of the […]

Ken Clarke has said Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill shows the prime minister has “absolute contempt” for the way of Westminster business is conducted. The former Tory chancellor was discussing the internal market bill when he said Johnson’s determination to push through the legislation was a Donald Trump tactics and could lead to major repercussions with US president-elect Joe Biden. […]

Durham Police has been accused of giving Boris Johnson’s senior adviser “special treatment” when he was investigated over his trip to the north of England during the first lockdown. It is claimed that Cummings was shown a key statement “as a courtesy” before it was made public. The force had explained why it was being […]

Boris Johnson is set to avoid the latest Downing Street press conference following reports of in-fighting at the heart of his administration. There had been planned to be an update on coronavirus on Thursday afternoon, but it will be left to business secretary Alok Sharma to update the nation. He will be joined by NHS England […]

Downing Street has dismissed claims that the in-fighting at the heart of government shows that Boris Johnson is distracted from tackling coronavirus. Responding to Labour leader Keir Starmer’s criticisms that he is not focusing “on the job in hand”, his official spokesperson said that he was “absolutely focused” on the pandemic.  The spokesman said: “The prime minister is […]

Boris Johnson has lost his chief spin doctor after a power struggle in Downing Street. Here are some of the key questions around the turmoil in Number 10. What has happened? Lee Cain is quitting the Number 10 operation, where he had been Johnson’s director of communications, although he will remain in post until the […]

As Boris Johnson attempts a pivot to Joe Biden his time is running out. It may be time to dig out that line of Kipling in which the imperial poet, almost certainly an instinctive Brexiteer, tells us all to beware “those two imposters”, triumph and disaster. Yes, it looks as if an effective Covid-19 vaccine […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has slammed the infighting in Downing Street after Boris Johnson’s director of communications walked out, with Dominic Cummings considering resigning.  “This is pathetic. I think millions of people will be waking up this morning, scratching their heads, saying what on earth is going on? “We’re in the middle of a […]

Dominic Cummings could resign from Downing Street as Boris Johnson’s senior aide after Lee Cain was forced out as director of communications. Former Vote Leave communications chief Cain had been expected to enter Boris Johnson’s inner circle by becoming his chief of staff, ahead of Allegra Stratton joining the government as press spokesperson. But there […]

Keir Starmer has slammed Boris Johnson over his government’s lack of “basic accountability” over private contracts during the coronavirus pandemic. Labour cited Cabinet Office data as showing the communications company spend between January and September, adding the total does not include the cost of special advisers and civil servants working on press matters. He told MPs: […]