Chief Adviser to the Prime Minister, Dominic Cummings has left his role at Number 10 Downing Street with immediate effect, according to reports.
Mr Cummings was seen leaving Downing Street holding a storage box on Friday evening, just hours after a Government minister indicated Mr Cummings would leave his role by the end of the year.
It had been believed that Mr Cummings, and Director of Communications Lee Cain who also resigned this week, would both stay on until Christmas – however, both have reportedly now vacated their roles.
Earlier on Friday, Mr Cummings claimed, “rumours of me threatening to resign are invented”.
Over recent days, a number of MPs have called for the departure of Mr Cummings, including senior Conservative backbencher Sir Roger Gale. On Thursday, Mr Gale tweeted, “The time has come in the interest of the country that Mr Cummings is seen out through the door immediately”.
Mr Cummings has long been a controversial figure and also one seen to be particularly influential at Downing Street. His departure, along with the resignation of Lee Cain, could spark significant change within the team around Boris Johnson at Downing Street, at a key time with the Coronavirus pandemic ongoing and the end of the Brexit transition period taking place next month.
