The clock may be ticking when it comes to the Brexit talks but the news dominating Westminster today relates not to legal texts but personnel changes in Downing Street. Overnight the Times and Daily Mail both ran reports suggesting Number 10’s Director of Communications Lee Cain was in line for a promotion to Chief of Staff. However, shortly after the news broke, briefings against Cain (a Vote Leave alumnus who has worked with Boris Johnson in government since his Foreign Office days) began – and government sources suggested no final decision had been made.
The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg has alleged that Johnson’s partner Carrie Symonds is thought to be deeply opposed to the move and made this clear privately. Meanwhile, anonymous Special Advisers voiced concern about the move this morning to Politico. However, since then, there has been kickback – with a number of current government aides as well as former Special Advisers voicing their support for Cain.
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