Boris Johnson ‘toxic’ even to his allies, says Malcom Rifkind
Boris Johnson this morning attempted to put a positive gloss on the exodus of senior officials from 10 Downing Street by quoting The Lion King,
“Change is good,” he told those remaining after a fifth aide walked out of No 10 within 24 hours.
According to Conservative Home, Elena Narozanski, a former adviser to the cabinet minister Michael Gove and Theresa May during her tenure as home secretary, quit her role in the Downing Street policy unit.
Her exit follows the departures of Jack Doyle, communications director, Martin Reynolds, principle private secretary, Dan Rosenfield, chief of staff, and Munira Mirza, head of policy.
Greg Hands, the energy minister, said today: “The prime minister was absolutely clear on Monday that there would be changes at the top of No 10 and that is what he has delivered.”
Reports say that Ms Mirza’s shock resignation sparked a clear-out of No 10 as the PM tried to take back control of events.
PM quotes Lion King to halt staff exodus
In a pep talk designed to stop more staff leaving, he said: “Change is necessary even though it’s tough” – said by Rafiki in the film.
Our politics editor Andrew Woodcock reports:
Matt Mathers4 February 2022 12:55
Cost-of-living squeeze to last for two years, warns Bank of England governor
The cost-of-living squeeze affecting UK households will continue for two years , the governor of the Bank of England has warned.
Andrew Bailey said inflation was not expected to return to normal levels until early 2024, with pay rise struggling to keep up.
Mr Bailey, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It is going to be a difficult period ahead, I readily admit, because we all get we are already seeing and we’re going to see a reduction in real income.
“Based on what we see today, I would expect that, so we’re going to start coming out of it in 2023, and two years from now we expect we’ll be back on to a more stable – certainly inflation – back to a more stable position.”
Matt Mathers4 February 2022 12:50
Munira Mirza: Who is Boris Johnson’s policy chief and why did she quit?
Boris Johnson has suffered a major blow as his policy chief and long-standing adviser, Munira Mirza, quit No 10 in protest at the prime minister’s “scurrilous” Jimmy Savile smear against Sir Keir Starmer.
The backroom operator and key member of Mr Johnson’s inner circle first joined No 10 in July 2019 and was pictured among staff who flanked the prime minister as he gave his first speech to the nation from Downing Street.
What else do we know about Ms Mirza? Our politics correspondent Ashley Cowburn reports:
Matt Mathers4 February 2022 12:35
High court judge blocks DUP move to stop Brexit checks
A high court judge has blocked a move by the DUP to suspend Brexit checks in Northern Ireland.