James Chapman, a key adviser to George Osborne during the hard-fought campaign to keep Britain in the European Union, will swap sides to work for David Davis, the secretary of state for Brexit, it has emerged.
The former Daily Mail political editor was Osborne’s director of communications throughout the fraught contest, helping to craft documents such as the mocked-up budget red book that enraged Brexiters by suggesting leaving the EU would force the Treasury to cut spending and ramp up taxes.
But with his former boss now relegated to the backbenches by Theresa May, Chapman has been lured to work for Davis as a special adviser (Spad) at the new Department for Exiting the European Union.
The department is currently camping out in No 9 Downing Street, where Cameron had begun to put together a “Brexit Unit”, before stepping down as prime minister after May emerged as the only contender for the Conservative leadership.
It is expected to move to the soon-to-be vacated premises for the Department for Energy and Climate Change, which is being folded into the business department.
May’s government is scrambling to equip itself for the tough negotiating task ahead. Oliver Robbins, a seasoned Whitehall hand, has been appointed as the Brexit department’s permanent secretary, and it is expected to second expert staff from both Boris Johnson’s Foreign Office and the Treasury.
News of Chapman’s appointment emerged alongside those of a string of other Spads. His replacement at the Treasury, working for new chancellor Philip Hammond, will be Sky News consumer affairs correspondent Poppy Trowbridge.
The Treasury confirmed that she would be joining as a Spad, and would be starting shortly.
Spads can act as confidantes, gatekeepers and sometimes attack dogs for their political employees, and their jobs don’t tend to outlast the minister they serve.
Details of salaries for the new crop of Spads will not be published until later in the year; but Downing Street denied reports that May had sought to impose a strict pay-limit, or a ceiling on how many advisors each minister can hire, saying she was simply seeking to ensure appointments were made in “a prudent, pragmatic way”.
Cameron was accused of cronyism on his departure from Downing Street for rewarding many of his key lieutenants, including his own director of communications, Craig Oliver, and chief of staff Ed Llewellyn, in his resignation honours list.
May arrived in 10 Downing Street with her own trusted team, including Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, who had worked with her in the Home Office and will now act as joint chiefs of staff.
