Carrie Johnson Ally Henry Newman Moved Out Of No.10 In Boris Johnson Shake-Up
Henry Newman (left) is leaving Downing Street to return to work for his former boss Michael Gove (Alamy)
2 min read
Senior Downing Street aide Henry Newman, a close ally of the prime minister's wife Carrie Johnson, is leaving his position as Boris Johnson continues to recast his Number 10 team.
Newman’s departure from his role as an adviser in Number 10, first reported by the Mail On Sunday, was confirmed by the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson on Monday.
He is returning to work for his former boss Michael Gove, the Levelling Up Secretary, and has left in a "mutually agreed decision with the Prime Minister”.
The spokesperson said it was a "vitally important department, where [Newman] will be able to provide advice” to Gove, for whom he was previously a special advisor.
Carrie Johnson has previously referred to Newman as one of her “favourite people”, and there was speculation that their friendship had influenced his appointment as a senior advisor in Downing Street in 2020.
The Prime Minister has recently faced criticism over the alleged role his wife has had over policy and personnel decisions in government, something she strongly denies.
On Sunday Carrie Johnson issued a statement saying she is the target of a "brutal briefing campaign" from her husband's “enemies" after extracts from an upcoming book about her and Boris Johnson were published in the Mail on Sunday.
The biography, by Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft, makes a number of incendiary allegations about Carrie’s influence on her husband, but was condemned as misogynistic and “sexist" by many, including health secretary Sajid Javid today.
Newman's move is part of a wider shake-up of the Number 10 operation after a raft of resignations in the fallout from the partygate row and the prime minister's much-criticised false claims about Jimmy Savile and Sir Keir Starmer.
Steve Barclay, the Cabinet Office minister, has been made chief of staff, while Guto Harri, Johnson’s former spokesperson when he was Mayor of London, is the new Downing Street director of communications.
Further personnel changes are likely to be announced "in the coming days" to fill the other vacancies created by last week’s departures, including a new permanent secretary in Number 10, and the principal private secretary role vacated by Martin Reynolds, the Prime Minister's official spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also confirmed some of Barclay's Cabinet Office responsibilities will be shared among the other ministers in the department to free up more time for his new role.
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