Dominic Cummings left Downing Street after his relationship with the Prime Minister 'fell off a cliff', a former Cabinet minister has claimed.
Boris Johnson's right-hand man left Number 10 carrying a large box on Friday evening, amid claims he had briefed against the PM and his fiancee Carrie Symonds.
Senior Tory MPs have called on Mr Johnson to use his departure to “reset the Government” after complaints arose that the party and Parliament were not being listened to while Mr Cummings was senior advisor.
Former Brexit secretary David Davis told BBC Breakfast on Saturday many within No 10 had “turned on” Mr Cummings.
He said: “It is said… people ranging from Allegra (Stratton) – the new spokesman for the Prime Minister – right through to his (Mr Johnson’s) fiancee, Carrie, turned against him.
“The relationship with the Prime Minister fell off a cliff. And once that’s gone, it’s gone.”
Mr Davis branded the adviser’s style “confrontational” but added the PM had “relied on him” and “there are things he (Mr Cummings) was right about”.
He added the photos of Mr Cummings leaving Downing Street could help “reset Government”.
He said he could have left Number 10 through less visible exits, but instead chose to walk out in front of the waiting press.
He told BBC Breakfast: “The photograph will last the weekend and people will remember it, but it’s not the key.
“And at one level, as I said, Boris will want to reset Government and in a sense, that photograph does part of the resetting for him.”
The BBC reported Mr Cummings’ departure had been brought forward given the “upset in the team” and that the PM wanted to “clear the air and move on”.
On what could change, Mr Davis told BBC Breakfast: “Well the first thing is there are going to be some new staff in Number 10. He’s going to need a new chief of staff who has got to be fiercely efficient but not fiercely political. He’s got to find someone who doesn’t have their own agenda.
“Secondly, lots of my colleagues in Parliament are hoping for a new relationship with Parliament. More openness, more interaction with Parliament.”
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