REPORTS at Westminster suggest Alister Jack is on the cusp of being reshuffled out of Boris Johnson’s Cabinet.
Despite being in post as Secretary of State for Scotland for only seven months, the Dumfries and Galloway MP is thought likely to be one of the victims of the Prime Minister’s changes to his Government.
Johnson’s spokesman confirmed yesterday that the reshuffle, which has been expected for weeks, will happen tomorrow, with the new Cabinet meeting on Friday.
It’s understood there could be a number of high-profile casualties.
Last Friday, at the end of a meeting of ministerial special advisers, Johnson’s chief strategist Dominic Cummings, told the assembled aides, who will lose their jobs if their bosses are sacked, that he would see “half” of them next week.
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Yesterday, Cummings added to the air of chaos surrounding the reshuffle when he suggested a gang of CBeebies superheroes would do a better job than the current Cabinet.
Asked outside his London home about the Cabinet shake-up, Cummings said: “PJ Masks will do a greater job than all of them put together.”
In the cartoon, aimed at pre-schoolers, the young friends transform into superheroes named Catboy, Owlette and Gekko and head out into the night to fight villains.
Asked for his response to the Government’s decision to go ahead with HS2, the Prime Minister’s adviser quoted the show’s theme tune, telling reporters: “The night time is the right time to fight crime”.
Chancellor Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab are thought to be safe in the reshuffle.
However, Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers and Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom are rumoured to be out the way out. Attorney General Geoffrey Cox and Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg are also said to be potentially heading elsewhere.
Jack, who is due to take only his second session of Scottish Questions today, has seemingly not impressed his colleagues.
He got the job after Johnson sacked David Mundell, infuriating Ruth Davidson, who ultimately stood down as Scottish Tory leader.
It’s not clear who would replace him, but Douglas Ross, the unpaid Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Scotland Office is among the favourites.
John Lamont, and Andrew Bowie have also been tipped for possible promotion. Davidson is said to be heading for the Lords and could take on the job.
Following the General Election, there were rumours Johnson might scrap the role of Secretary of State for Scotland, instead creating a Department for the Constitution, taking on responsibilities for the Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Ireland offices.
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Jack was due to appear in front of MSPs last Thursday but cancelled at the last minute.
An SNP source said: “Alister Jack has been beyond useless and appears to be even less influential than his predecessor.
“He has barely opened his mouth in Westminster,
and his refusal to turn up for a scheduled Holyrood committee appearance raised eyebrows even further.
“Mr Jack is perhaps the one Tory happy with their election result in Scotland, as it left the substitute bench thin in number and thin in talent.
“But with Tory insiders briefing that Jack could be first on the scrap heap in Thursday’s reshuffle – it seems even PJ Masks couldn’t save his job.”
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