Former Chancellor George Osborne ‘wanted to make David Beckham sports minister,’ sources say

George Osborne wanted to give David Beckham a peerage and make him sports minister, it has been revealed. The then-Chancellor discussed the idea with David Cameron in Downing Street on the day of a major Cabinet reshuffle in 2013. But it was rejected because of fears a ministerial post requiring the former England football captain having … Read more

Foreign aid cuts: David Cameron and Tony Blair warn Boris Johnson

David Cameron said Boris Johnson’s rumoured plan to cut Britain’s foreign aid spending by £5billion would be a ‘moral, strategic and political’ error – while Tony Blair has slammed the proposals as ‘a profound strategic mistake’. Intervention from the two former Prime Ministers follows reports that Boris Johnson is planning on slashing the £15billion international development budget to … Read more

David Cameron and Tony Blair warn foreign aid spending cuts are a ‘profound strategic mistake’

David Cameron said Boris Johnson’s rumoured plan to cut Britain’s foreign aid spending by £5billion would be a ‘moral, strategic and political’ error – while Tony Blair slammed the proposals as ‘a profound strategic mistake’. Intervention from the two former Prime Ministers follows reports that Boris Johnson was planning on slashing the £15 billion international development budget … Read more

One in seven of those who hold society’s most powerful positions went to top ten independent schools

Whether educating prime ministers or royalty, Eton has long had a reputation as a training ground for the powerful. And a new study quantifying the school’s impact on British society has confirmed its influence in all spheres of public life. Eton College, whose alumni include Boris Johnson, David Cameron and Prince William, is officially the … Read more

David Cameron appears to have taken some ill-advised style tips from William Hague

Tory leaders and baseball caps don’t mix, David Cameron! Former PM appears to have taken some ill-advised style tips from his predecessor William Hague as he dresses down for a walk in Kensington David Cameron emerged from a Ford Transit van with security detail in London  Former PM looked very different from the sharp-suited politician … Read more

Carrie’s revenge: How PM’s fiancee called time on Vote Leave faction after ‘bonfire of the Spads’

The shock departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain from the upper echelons of Downing Street cap a remarkable turnaround for a gang used to doing the hiring and firing. Mr Cummings and his cadre of Vote Leavers oversaw what became known as a ‘Bonfire of the Spads’ after Boris Johnson took over from Theresa … Read more

How Boris’s state-educated ‘Scouser’ Lee Cain clashed with Carrie and her well-heeled inner-circle

He’s the state-educated ex-journalist who once dressed as a chicken to chase David Cameron around the country but went on to be his successor’s media supremo. Lee Cain is a rare everyman figure in the blue-blooded hierarchy of Old Etonian Boris Johnson’s No 10 operation before his decision last night to quit as director of … Read more

Carrie Symonds ‘opposes’ Lee Cain becoming No10 chief of staff

Boris Johnson is facing a Downing Street meltdown amid claims fiancee Carrie Symonds is fighting plans to make a former Vote Leave aide his chief of staff. Lee Cain, currently Downing Street’s director of communications, is said to be in ‘advanced discussions’ about the new post. But leaks about the talks happening have sparked a backlash from … Read more

Carrie ‘deeply unhappy’ at plan to make ex-Vote Leave aide PM’s chief of staff

Boris Johnson is facing a Downing Street meltdown amid claims fiancee Carrie Symonds is fighting plans to make a former Vote Leave aide his chief of staff. Lee Cain, currently Downing Street’s director of communications, is said to be in ‘advanced discussions’ about the new post. But leaks about the talks happening have sparked a backlash from … Read more

No10 head of Press and former Vote Leave official is in talks to be Boris Johnson’s chief of staff

No10 head of Press and former Vote Leave official is in talks to be Boris Johnson’s chief of staff Lee Cain is said to be in ‘advanced discussions’ about the potential new post  Promotion would be big rise for former Daily Mirror election chicken journalist Chief of staff will operate as the Prime Minister’s ‘fixer’ … Read more