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19 Feb, 5 tweets, 1 min read
BREAKING

Oliver Lewis has quit Number 10 as head of the Union unit

Lewis - a Dominic Cummings ally - felt his position was being made 'untenable' by others in No 10

Lewis worked with Boris Johnson on Vote Leave, his leadership campaign & helped strike the Brexit deal
This is what's being claimed:

* Oliver Lewis accused by Carrie Symonds & Henry Newman of briefing against Gove over Frost power-play

* PM called Lewis into office yesterday & 'bollocked him' over alleged leaks

* Lewis strongly denied claims and quit

* No comment from No 10
This last week we learned that Simone Finn and Henry Newman were being brought into senior roles in No 10

It's been chaos ever since

Lord Frost nearly quit, Oliver Miles has quit, others are thinking about quitting

Read our blow-by-blow account in tomorrow's Times
Allies of Newman and Symonds are strongly denying that they had any role in briefing against Oliver Lewis

They say it's 'total rubbish'

Carnage in No 10 tonight...
Summary of where we are:

* Oliver Lewis has quit as head of Union Unit after being accused by PM of briefing against Michael Gove - something he strongly denies

* There's claims Symonds & Newman levelled the accusation originally - something their allies say is 'total rubbish'

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More from @Steven_Swinford

Steven Swinford Profile picture
20 Feb
Times's long read on a week of carnage in No 10

* Lord Frost told PM he was going only to be swayed by big Brexit job

* Oliver Lewis left, Ben Gascoigne almost quit & others are preparing to go

* Dan Rosenfield accused of cutting out political advisers

thetimes.co.uk/article/carrie…
Lord Frost told PM his mind was made up & he was leaving

Johnson wouldn't have it & handed him key role in overseeing relations with EU

One aide noted that Lord Frost has managed to negotiate himself a pay cut - from £120,000 as a special adviser to £100,000 as a minister
Political ally of PM said it's like Henry VIII's court

'Wolsey [Cummings] has had chop & it all depends on who Anne Boleyn favours now'

Symonds allies infuriated by depiction as Lady Macbeth but accept she has influence

'If she wasn't engaged to Boris she'd be working for him'
Read 5 tweets
Steven Swinford Profile picture
20 Nov 20
EXCLUSIVE with @oliver_wright

Boris Johnson asked Sir Alex Allan to tone down report which found Priti Patel had bullied civil servants

‘He didn’t think Alex’s findings accorded with the evidence

‘He spoke to Alex and asked him if he’d change the tone of it. Alex said no’
Whitehall sources told The Times that Boris Johnson asked Sir Alex Allan to change his report to state that there was not clear evidence of bullying at home office

Sir Alex refused and said he’s quit if the PM overruled him - which is exactly what happened today
No 10 tonight confirmed Boris Johnson spoke to Sir Alex about report but did not comment on whether he asked him to tone it down

‘As you would expect, the PM spoke to Sir Alex Allan to further his understanding of the issues

‘Sir Alex’s conclusions are entirely his own’
Read 4 tweets
Steven Swinford Profile picture
30 Oct 20
EXCLUSIVE with @elliotttimes

Boris Johnson is preparing to introduce national lockdown restrictions from next Wednesday

The restrictions could see everything except nurseries, schools, universities and non-essential shops close until Dec 1

PM presser on Monday
Boris Johnson held a meeting this afternoon with Rishi Sunak, Michael Gove & Matt Hancock

They discussed new NHS data which shows hospitals are being overwhelmed

Ministers left feeling they have no choice but to implement national restrictions
PM said to be very reluctant to move to national lockdown restrictions but data has left him and other ministers feeling like there’s no choice

Jonathan Van Tam, the deputy chief medical officer, told ministers on Thursday morning that coronavirus is 'out of control'
Read 5 tweets
Steven Swinford Profile picture
29 Oct 20
EHRC antisemitism report:

* Serious failings in leadership & an inadquete process for handling complaints

* Political interference in complaints

* There were 'unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination'

* Culture which 'at worst' could be said to accept anti-Semitism
The EHRC found *23* instances of political interference by Labour staff in anti-semitism cases, including decisions over whether to investigate or suspend

'We concluded that this was indirectly discriminatory and unlawful, and that Labour was legally responsible for it'
Antisemitism by 'ordinary' labour members:

* Diminished scale of Holocaust

* Expressed support for Hitler

* Compared Israelis to Hitler

* Claimed there was a 'witch hunt' in party

* Conspiracy theories about Rothschilds & Jewish power

* Used Zio as anti-semitic term
Read 4 tweets
Steven Swinford Profile picture
29 Aug 20
Exclusive

Boris Johnson has been directly warned by Tory MPs that an algorithm at the heart of his planning reforms risks 'destroying suburbia' and creating 'slums of the future'

PM held a video conference call with 17 Tory MPs from London on Wednesday

thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/p…
Tory MPs, who included four serving ministers, warned reforms would see tower blocks built in the suburbs

They said the targets under the algorithm are so big they could see poor quality, rabbit hutch homes

All London Tory MPs & councillors planning joint consultation response
Boris Johnson said he was in 'listening mode' said he understood concerns

Pushed on the algorithm at the heart of the reforms, the PM joked: 'Algorithms are banned'

Tory MPs said Robert Jenrick, who was also on the call, was far more 'defensive' about the algorithm
Read 4 tweets
Steven Swinford Profile picture
29 Aug 20
Exclusive

England could face nationwide restrictions and extensive local lockdowns in event of 2nd coronavirus wave this winter, Matt Hancock warns

Under 'reasonable worse case scenario' UK could see surge in coronavirus at same time as bad flu outbreak

thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/m…
Hancock on 2nd wave:

'This is reasonable worst-case scenario: we have bad flu and growth in coronavirus as people spend more time indoors

'Cases go up, we have to use extensive local lockdowns or take further national action

'We don’t rule that out but we don’t want to see it'
Matt Hancock also says that under 'central' scenario vaccine won't get regulatory approval until 'some time next year'

He says social distancing rules are here for the 'forseeable' and suggests he doesn't expect grandparents to be able to hug grandchildren at Christmas
Read 6 tweets

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