Boris Johnson’s government has suffered a series of resignations by senior advisers over disagreements with the direction of the government. The latest is Sir Kevan Collins, the education recovery commissioner, who stepped down on Wednesday after ministers’ plans for pupils to catch up on lost learning fell far short of his recommendations. Others who have quit include:
Alex Allan
Johnson’s own ethics adviser quit in November after the prime minister refused to sack the home secretary, Priti Patel, despite a formal investigation finding evidence that she had bullied civil servants. Allan said Patel’s conduct “amounted to behaviour that can be described as bullying”, noting instances of shouting and swearing and finding that she had breached the ministerial code, even if unintentionally. Allan, who also served Johnson’s two predecessors, said he could not continue as the prime minister’s independent adviser on the ministerial code.
Jonathan Jones
The head of the UK government’s legal department resigned after a significant disagreement with the attorney general for England and Wales over plans to override parts of the Brexit deal on Northern Ireland. Jones had repeatedly disagreed with Suella Braverman over points of law, but the final straw came over her interpretation of the EU agreement. Since departing in September, Jones has criticised the conduct of a number of ministers, including during scandals over government lobbying and the prime minister’s Downing Street flat refurbishment, suggesting safeguards needed to be tightened.
Samuel Kasumu
Johnson’s adviser on civil society and communities resigned after a row in April over a report on racial disparities, which concluded that the UK did not have a systemic problem with racism. Kasumu was the prime minister’s most senior black adviser. He had previously said in a letter that he was considering his resignation over the conduct of the minister Kemi Badenoch, suggesting she may have broken the ministerial code when she publicly criticised a black journalist on social media, and that tensions over race policies within No 10 had become unbearable.
LGBT advisory panel
The government’s LGBT advisory panel suffered a series of resignations over several issues before being officially disbanded. Three board members resigned in March over the government’s delay in banning conversion practices. One, Jayne Ozanne, said the equalities ministers Liz Truss and Badenoch were ignorant, and a second, James Morton, said they were not committed to LGBT equality. The third, Ellen Murray, urged the government to “drop the trans culture war”.
