NEW: Queen Elizabeth II thought Boris Johnson "better suited to the stage" than politics and two days before her death, after he resigned, she told a senior courtier in jest: "At least that idiot won't be organising my funeral." 1/ thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar… These are revelations from my new book OUT, serialised in the Sunday Times. The first remark was made directly to a minister in Nov 2019. The second was relayed by a senior courtier to a cabinet minister at the Privy Council meeting after her death thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…

EXC: How Dominic Cummings orchestrated a plot to make Partygate public to bring down Boris Johnson. The first revelations from my new book OUT 1/ thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar… The night before Cummings left No 10 in Nov 2020 he and Johnson had a blazing row in which the PM demanded: "Are you threatening me."
Cummings replied: "Yes I'm f***ing threatening you."
A year later he acted... 2/ thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…

TRUSS CABINET REVEALED
Based on multiple converstions with aides and ministers, this is my current understanding of the Truss cabinet. Caveat: the white board is not finalised 1/ CABINET
Kemi Badenoch is tipped by most people to be education secretary, but I have also heard Michelle Donelan's name mentioned. Badenoch has also been pushing to take over at culture 2/

NEW: Two sources say Dominic Cummings grew concerned about the "frat house" atmosphere in Johnson's flat and upstairs at Chequers. He and Martin Reynolds, the PPS, agreed Johnson should only get STRAP classified materials in his office downstairs thetimes.co.uk/article/is-bor… STRAP papers are usually classified Top Secret, but you have to have an even higher level of security clearance to see them and be a named individual. They are easy to spot because they are on pink paper thetimes.co.uk/article/is-bor…

On 9/11, I was in Brighton, covering Tony Blair's speech to the TUC for the Sunday Express. I was out and about in the Lanes when the first plane hit the towers. I got a call from Yvonne Ridley (later captured by the Taliban) who said a plane had hit the World Trade Center I didn't understand the significance but then headed back to the press room at the Brighton Centre. I was watching the live TV broadcasts when the first tower collapsed. I felt sick. I've never known a silence like it when it happened, followed by a collective intake of breath

🚨 EXC: Boris Johnson threatened to demote Rishi Sunak from chancellor to health secretary last week (in front of a dozen witnesses)🚨 thetimes.co.uk/article/togeth… Johnson was furious about the leak of a letter from Sunak to the PM calling for a relaxation in Covid travel rules

NEW POLL: Hanbury strategy polling for Politico snap verdict on the budget.
Top line People back spending more now vs balancing the books by 56% to 12% NEW POLL 2: Voters agree with spending more on the NHS even if that means less for other public services by 57% to 14% (Hanbury strategy for Politico)

1) Here is Bernard Jenkin accusing me of making up stories

https://twitter.com/bernardjenkin/status/1048846067473764352?s=21

And here is Bernard Jenkin threatening to withdraw his support from his own government in a Tory WhatsApp group yesterday 2) One member of the ERG I spoke to on Friday was involved in a phone call involving at least three people. Is that a conference call?