Dominic Cummings wields axe over Cabinet ‘leakers’

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Dominic Cummings wields axe over Cabinet ‘leakers’ Liz Truss, Ben Wallace and Robert Buckland – who are at the top of Boris Johnson’s hitlist in his next reshuffle

  • Friends of Ms Truss are feeling very pessimistic about her career prospects
  • It followed the leaking of a letter she wrote to Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove 
  • Ann-Marie Trevelyan is tipped to replace Defence Secretary Ben Wallace

By Glen Owen Political Editor For The Mail On Sunday

Published: | Updated:

Cabinet Ministers suspected of leaking to the media are at the top of Boris Johnson’s hit-list in his next reshuffle, as adviser Dominic Cummings increasingly flexes his political muscles.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Justice Secretary Robert Buckland are all nervous about their chances of staying in the Cabinet after the reshuffle, which is expected in the autumn.

The rumoured appearance in No 10 of a whiteboard used to write out the names of those on the move has not helped to calm nerves. 

Cabinet Ministers suspected of leaking to the media are at the top of Boris Johnson’s hit-list in his next reshuffle, as adviser Dominic Cummings (pictured) increasingly flexes his political muscles

Friends of Ms Truss (pictured) are feeling particularly pessimistic about her career prospects after she was called in to No 10 on Thursday morning for what one source described as ‘a total b******ing’ by Mr Cummings

Friends of Ms Truss (pictured) are feeling particularly pessimistic about her career prospects after she was called in to No 10 on Thursday morning for what one source described as ‘a total b******ing’ by Mr Cummings

Friends of Ms Truss are feeling particularly pessimistic about her career prospects after she was called in to No 10 on Thursday morning for what one source described as ‘a total b******ing’ by Mr Cummings.

It followed the leaking last week of a letter she wrote to Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

In it, she told the Ministers she was writing ‘to set out my key areas of concern on border policy and readiness for the end of the transition period and to seek your assurance that the concerns will be addressed’. 

She went on to argue that plans to phase in customs and health checks for goods from the EU over a six-month period risked a rise in smuggling.

According to one source, Mr Cummings accepted Ms Truss’s protestations that she had not leaked it herself – but said she should have realised the Civil Service would leak it. 

However, a separate source questioned Ms Truss’s version of events by claiming to this newspaper that the Cabinet Ministers had read the contents of the letter in Business Insider magazine before it even arrived in their offices.

Mr Wallace, who No 10 believe has been responsible for a number of leaks – something his friends strongly deny – is also understood to be at risk. 

Mr Wallace (pictured) , who No 10 believe has been responsible for a number of leaks – something his friends strongly deny – is also understood to be at risk

Mr Wallace (pictured) , who No 10 believe has been responsible for a number of leaks – something his friends strongly deny – is also understood to be at risk

International Development Secretary Ann-Marie Trevelyan is tipped to replace him when her department is scrapped and absorbed into the Foreign Office in the autumn.

Mr Cummings made clear his determination to crack down on leaks in a meeting with Government advisers on Friday, when he referred to ‘the snakes and reptiles of the media crawling all over Government’. 

A source said: ‘The reshuffle will have to fit with Dom’s grand plan – slash the power of the Civil Service, centralise control in No 10 and muzzle the press.’

Ms Truss declined to comment, while sources close to her said: ‘Liz is focused on her job.’ 

One Tory MP who is sympathetic to Ms Truss said: ‘I suspect Liz regrets writing a letter rather than picking up the phone. 

The chance to leak something like that is a golden opportunity for the Brexit-blocking Civil Service and this is why Cummings is right to promise a new world order.’

A senior Government source said: ‘It is true the Prime Minister is very frustrated by leaks, but there is no whiteboard up and a reshuffle is not imminent.’

Ministry of Justice HQ turned into a courtroom as cases are hit by a backlog – with social distancing measures dramatically reducing the capacity for trials and hearings

 By Harry Cole for the Mail on Sunday

The vast Ministry of Justice headquarters is set to be turned into a working court to ease the burden on the creaking legal system.

Social-distancing measures have dramatically reduced capacity for trials and hearings – which was tight even before the pandemic started – with London the worst affected area.

Now Ministers are set to approve plans to use their own building in Westminster to ease pressure on the capital’s civil and family courts.

And across the country, various town halls, some of which still have historic court facilities including holding cells, are to be converted back into temporary criminal facilities.

The Mail on Sunday has learned that the tenth floor of the MoJ’s cavernous building in Petty France, which is currently occupied by 75 press officers, is being lined up for the new facilities. Last week, Government communications bosses outlined a plan to dramatically scale back the size of departmental press offices, and instead centralise Whitehall PR in the Cabinet Office.

Ironically, a vast courtroom at 9 Downing Street is set to be turned into a broadcasting facility under the same reforms.

Until 2009, the ornate wood-panelled room housed the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which is the highest court of appeal for some UK overseas territories. The room is to host televised briefings to the media from the autumn.

A Whitehall source said: ‘Space is at a premium across London and the MoJ is going to be leading from the front in clearing the massive backlog of cases.’

Last month, the Crown Prosecution Service warned: ‘The backlog of cases in the system is increasing daily. Cases that do come to court are taking hours or days longer than they would under normal circumstances.

‘The challenges of social distancing and protecting those in the court environment cannot be underestimated.’

The CPS added ‘the current scale of increase in the backlog would take ten years to clear at pre-pandemic rates’.

An HM Courts and Tribunals Service spokesman said: ‘We’ve kept the justice system running throughout the pandemic and have identified an initial ten buildings we could use as courts while social distancing rules are in place.’