Lee Cain has sent Boris Johnson’s government into a frenzy after sensationally quitting his role as communications director over his failure to land a promotion to chief of staff.
The prime minister was persuaded Mr Cain was not chief of staff material, with his fiancée Carrie Symonds said to be insistent about his unsuitability.
So who exactly is Mr Cain? How did he assume such prominence at No 10? And how did he come so close to becoming one of the most powerful people in the country?
The former Vote Leave campaign official started out as a tabloid journalist with The Sun before moving to The Daily Mirror — where he was given the job of dressing up as a chicken to harass Tory politicians on the street.
He was first sent out in a costume to taunt David Cameron during the 2010 general election campaign — a stunt aimed at goading the then-PM for failing to commit to a series of TV debates.
“Lee was a great Mirror Chicken,” said one of his former colleagues. “He attacked the role with real zeal and great passion. I vividly remember him coming to the newsroom and prancing around still in his full outfit like a rooster.”
After leaving the Labour-supporting paper, the man nicknamed “Caino” by colleagues went on to work for the Vote Leave organisation in the run-up to the 2016 Brexit referendum. He was the head of broadcast for the successful push to quit the EU, working closely with campaign director Dominic Cummings.
Having made the switch into Conservative politics, he then found PR roles at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) under Michael Gove and very briefly at Downing Street under Theresa May.
In 2017 he left to join Mr Johnson as his spokesman at the Foreign Office. When Mr Johnson walked out of the cabinet Mr Cain walked out with him — even working without pay for a short period, telling journalist that “the boss would come good”.
Boris Johnson with Lee Cain
” height=”2333″ width=”3500″ srcset=”https://static.independent.co.uk/2020/11/12/09/lee-cain-johnson.jpg?width=320 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2020/11/12/09/lee-cain-johnson.jpg?width=640 640w” layout=”responsive” i-amphtml-layout=”responsive”> Boris Johnson with Lee Cain (PA)
When the boss did indeed come good and made it to No 10 last July, Mr Cain landed a key job in the inner circle. In fact, he was identified as the “evil genius” who put his old friend Mr Cummings forward to become the PM’s most senior adviser.
His bitter exit from No 10 followed Allegra Stratton’s appointment as the government’s spokesperson for new White House-style TV briefings.
Cain is said to have flounced out several days ago, insisting that he must get the job of chief of staff since he would be sidelined on communications by the arrival of Ms Stratton.
His mentor Mr Cummings reportedly threatened quit too. One unnamed Tory MP told The Telegraph that the top strategist told the PM: “If I go, I’m taking these people with me” — referring to other aides hired from the Vote Leave campaign.
It’s unclear whether Mr Cain will follow his own path after leaving No 10 next month, or wait patiently for Mr Cummings’ next move. One thing is certain: he won’t be getting the chief of staff job in Washington. President-elect Joe Biden has just hired someone to run his White House from January.
