One of the prime minister’s most senior advisers has been suspended from Downing Street pending an investigation, Sky News understands.
Jason Stein, special adviser to liz trussHe will face a formal investigation by the Cabinet Office’s ethics and decorum unit.
It follows allegations that he was responsible for unauthorized negative briefings against former cabinet ministers.
Truss warned that you are “out” if you have bad PMQs
Stein was a key aide during Truss’s leadership campaign and had served as acting head of political communications at Number 10.
There was anger among some Conservative MPs over the Number 10 source briefings over the weekend.
The Sunday Times reported that a Number 10 source had told them that Sajid Javid had not been considered for the chancellorship following Kwasi Kwarteng’s sacking because he is “shit”.
Sky News political editor Beth Rigby said it was “another emerging crisis for Liz Truss within her own team”.
The suspension was confirmed just before Truss began her third Prime Minister’s Questions session in the House of Commons as she fights to retain her post as prime minister following Kwarteng’s ouster and the reversal of most of her mini-budget. government.
The prime minister publicly apologized in the House of Commons when she faced questions from Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer for the first time since new chancellor Jeremy Hunt abandoned his economic plan.
“I have been very clear that I am sorry and that I have made mistakes,” he told MPs.
Speaking of the series of U-changes in economic policy carried out by Hunt on Monday, Truss continued: “The right thing to do under the circumstances is to make the changes, which I have made, and continue the work and meet expectations.” the British people.”
Earlier today, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned of discontent among Conservative colleagues. vs. “defenestrate” another PM as he suggested, another Conservative leadership contest would not calm markets.
Read more:
Foreign Security Defend Truss U-Turns
Disruption of protest attributed to ‘wokrati who eat tofu’
He told Sky News that the government “doesn’t mean to make mistakes”, but “in life, in politics, in business, mistakes happen”.
“What you have to do is recognize when they have had the humility to make changes,” he added.
“The prime minister and the chancellor have learned lessons from what happened before.”
A YouGov survey taken on Monday and Tuesday found most Tory members think Mrs Truss should go and have buyer’s remorse as more think Rishi Sunak, who lost to Mrs Truss, would make a better prime minister .
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‘I’m a fighter not a coward’
The prime minister has risked another fight with Conservative MPs by putting a Labor motion on fracking to a vote as a test of confidence in her administration later today.
But amid mounting calls for her to resign, Truss insisted she is “a fighter who won’t give up” after Sir Keir said the Conservatives’ economic credibility is “gone” and asked the prime minister : “Why are you still here?”
