Tuesday 5 July 2022 11:12 PM Simon McDonald was on No. 10's 'list of shame' before he waded into Chris ... trends now
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The former civil servant whose letter triggered last night’s crisis was far from popular in Downing Street even before he accused No 10 of not telling the truth over the Chris Pincher scandal.
Career diplomat Simon McDonald did not see eye to eye with Boris Johnson, and was reportedly on a No 10 ‘s*** list’ because of his anti-Brexit views.
Prior to becoming a peer, Lord McDonald had been the top Foreign Office mandarin between 2015 and 2020, including the period when Mr Johnson was foreign secretary.
The pair repeatedly clashed, insiders claim, and the now-Prime Minister thought the ‘Remainiac’ mandarin was trying to ‘undermine him by leaking stories about him being lazy’.
Lord McDonald left the civil service in August 2020, after being named as one of three permanent secretaries reportedly in line to be sacked.
The former top civil servant claimed No10 'keep changing their story and are still not telling the truth'
The PM is under pressure over his decision to appoint Mr Pincher as the Conservative deputy chief whip in February
