Boris Johnson's controversial adviser Dominic Cummings will leave his job by Christmas, the BBC reports.
Mr Cummings, who led the Vote Leave campaign during the EU referendum of 2016, became a nationwide hate figure earlier this year after it emerged he travelled from London to Durham in the middle of the first lockdown.
He was seen as close to Lee Cain, a former journalist who became the Prime Minister's chief spin doctor and a trusted aide, but quit on Wednesday following reports of strife within No. 10.
Mr Cummings wrote in January in a blog post advertising roles in No. 10 that: "We want to improve performance and make me much less important — and within a year largely redundant."
In response to rumours that he might quit, he told the BBC on Thursday that he had not threatened to resign, but added that his "position hasn't changed since my January blog".
In May, it emerged that Mr Cummings made a 50-mile journey to Barnard Castle while he was apparently isolating with coronavirus symptoms in Durham, at a time when the public was advised to stay home.
The senior aide claimed he made the trip on Easter Sunday, with his wife and young son in tow, because he wanted to test his eyesight to see if he was fit to drive after suffering with coronavirus symptoms.
Mr Cummings' refusal to resign at the time was seen as a sign by many that there was one rule for the government and another for ordinary people.
Mr Cain, formerly Johnson's director of communications, was expected to take up the prestigious role of chief of staff under the PM, but instead resigned after opposition from several other factions within No. 10.
Those opposed to the move were said to include Mr Johnson's fiancee Carrie Symonds as well as many Tory MPs.
