Reports have emerged of a plot within the Conservative Party to oust UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, with senior Tory strategist Dougie Smith being a central figure in these efforts. Smith, who has worked as an aide to successive Tory Prime Ministers, has been in contact with a group of rebels, including Kemi Badenoch and Michael Gove, who are allegedly working to replace Sunak. Nadine Dorries, a Conservative MP, has claimed that Smith and plotters would remove Sunak to install Badenoch, whom she describes as a close personal friend of Smith. Dorries has previously written about this in her book 'THE PLOT', suggesting that Sunak was merely a stopgap. The involvement of Gove has been noted as well, with some reports referring to him as the 'arch-manipulator' within the party. The situation has drawn attention to the influence of certain individuals like Smith, who is described as an ultra-secretive and Machiavellian figure, and their undemocratic control over the party's inner workings. Will Dry, a former adviser to Sunak who left No 10 in December after becoming disenchanted, has held discussions with Smith, further linking him to the rebels.
Plenty of intrigue around in recent days about the mysterious No10 fixer Dougie Smith and anti-Sunak plotters Here is a bit from my book about his role and the departure of a different Tory PM, Boris Johnson All about the call Johnson took from Smith as things began to wobble https://t.co/TmbCWiFWyA
'Dougie Smith's reputation as a Machiavellian figure lurking in the shadows means that his name has long been viewed with fear and trepidation in Downing Street's inner circles' ✍️ Andrew Pierce (@toryboypierce)
She is their project. Kemi has been very close friends with Dougie Smith and Gove (plotters) for many years. If Kemi ever became leader, the chaos which has gripped the party for years would continue. https://t.co/mfEW5U7A2R
Me on @SkyNews Kemi is a very close friend of Gove and Dougie Smith who is leading the plotters and has been for many years. https://t.co/SyLtiX0Vsn
Opinion | Michael Gove is Kemi Badenoch’s secret weapon As he once said of his protégé – Kemi is ‘no bullshit’. Beware the Govenoch alliance, writes @annemcelvoy https://t.co/fsI1fyl7C9
Reports that Kemi Badenoch and Michael Gove are part of a group of 'plotters' seeking to oust the PM suggest that Nadine Dorries was right all along. The MET office expects the sun to turn black and the sky to fall down sometime later this afternoon https://t.co/G2wlZZ64IE
'Who exactly are these people that wield such undemocratic control over the Tory party?' 'Perhaps chief above all is the arch-manipulator, Gove himself. Another key player is the ultra-secretive Dougie Smith' ✍️ @NadineDorries Read more: https://t.co/yFH9u6VBL8 https://t.co/P7Pv5X26qu
'Who exactly are these people that wield such undemocratic control over the inner workings of the Tory party?' 'Perhaps chief above all is the arch-manipulator, Gove himself — the man to whom all roads lead. Another key player is the ultra-secretive Dougie Smith' ✍️… https://t.co/lhYQRoMl0f
Dougie Smith, senior Tory strategist who has worked as an aide to successive Tory PMs, is in contact with group of rebels seeking to oust Rishi Sunak Smith has held discussions with Will Dry, a former adviser to Sunak who left No 10 in December after becoming disenchanted…
🚨 NEW: Rishi Sunak's former aide Dougie Smith is actively working with Tory rebels to oust him [@thetimes]
In THE PLOT I wrote that Dougie Smith and plotters would remove Rishi in order to install Kemi, the close personal friend of Dougie Smith. Rishi was just the stop gap. Tory aide Dougie Smith linked to rebels behind plot to oust Rishi Sunak https://t.co/LLMGrU5NsH
Kemi Badenoch in King Henry II deniable mode. Ready for braver folk to rid her of the PM in her way. It was the one quick blink blink moment of her BBC interview. No surprise she’s in the WhatsApp group. Nadine spot on with #ThePlot as ever. https://t.co/zkgBaqO4kf