Who is Lee Cain? A closer look at spin doctor at the heart of Britain’s Covid response

Lee Cain sent Boris Johnson’s government into a frenzy after sensationally quitting his role as communications director in November 2020 over his failure to land a promotion to chief of staff.  

The former prime minister was persuaded Mr Cain was not chief of staff material, with his fiancée Carrie Symonds said to be insistent about his unsuitability.

Messages revealed so far by the official Covid inquiry lay bare the dysfunction at the heart of Downing Street during the pandemic, with Mr Cain asking Britain’s top civil servant at one point: “Wtf are we talking about?”

And on Monday Mr Cain will be grilled by inquiry chairman Baroness Heather Hallett about decision-making in Downing Street during the pandemic. He is one of several senior aides to Mr Johnson set to face Baroness Hallett this week, with ally Dominic Cummings and ex-senior civil servant Martin “Party Marty” Reynolds also appearing.

Mr Cain is also one of many staffers at the heart of the Partygate scandal, with Mr Johnson reportedly joking that his leaving drinks in November 2020 was “the most unsocially distanced party in the UK right now”.

So, as he prepares for what is set to be an explosive evidence session, who exactly is Mr Cain? How did he assume such prominence at No 10? And how did he come so close to becoming one of the most powerful people in the country?

The former Vote Leave campaign official started out as a tabloid journalist with The Sun before moving to The Daily Mirror – where he was given the job of dressing up as a chicken to harass Tory politicians on the street.

He was first sent out in a costume to taunt David Cameron during the 2010 general election campaign – a stunt aimed at goading the then-PM for failing to commit to a series of TV debates.

“Lee was a great Mirror Chicken,” said one of his former colleagues. “He attacked the role with real zeal and great passion. I vividly remember him coming to the newsroom and prancing around still in his full outfit like a rooster.”

After leaving the Labour-supporting paper, the man nicknamed “Caino” by colleagues went on to work for the Vote Leave organisation in the run-up to the 2016 Brexit referendum. He was the head of broadcast for the successful push to quit the EU, working closely with campaign director Dominic Cummings.

Having made the switch into Conservative politics, he then found PR roles at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) under Michael Gove and very briefly at Downing Street under Theresa May.  

In 2017 he left to join Mr Johnson as his spokesperson at the Foreign Office. When Mr Johnson walked out of the cabinet Mr Cain walked out with him – even working without pay for a short period, telling journalists that “the boss would come good”.  

When the boss did indeed come good and made it to No 10 last July, Mr Cain landed a key job in the inner circle. In fact, he was identified as the “evil genius” who put his old friend Mr Cummings forward to become the PM’s most senior adviser.

His bitter exit from No 10 followed Allegra Stratton’s appointment as the government’s spokesperson for new White House-style TV briefings.  

Cain is said to have flounced out several days ago, insisting that he must get the job of chief of staff since he would be side-lined on communications by the arrival of Ms Stratton.

His mentor Mr Cummings reportedly threatened quit too. One unnamed Tory MP told The Telegraph that the top strategist told the PM: “If I go, I’m taking these people with me” – referring to other aides hired from the Vote Leave campaign.

Mr Cain has since set up his own communications firm, Charlesbye, which works with clients such as the Premier League, Heathrow and Camelot.