THE Union Unit as we know it is over, according to multiple sources.

The BBC reported that, following the loss of two of its leaders in the space of just a few weeks, Downing Street’s taxpayer-funded Union Unit will “no longer play a key role” in government strategy.

The SNP said the news shows the Tories are in disarray, saying "no amount of rebranding" will change that.

To replace the unit in its role as strategic leader, a new Cabinet committee is to be created. This “Cabinet Union Strategy Committee” will be chaired by the Prime Minister.

The committee will also feature the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove.

READ MORE: Alister Jack insists 'nothing's gone wrong' with Union Unit despite 'disarray'

The Secretaries of State for Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, Alister Jack, Brandon Lewis, and Simon Hart respectively, will also sit on the Union committee.

The newly appointed Cabinet member, the unelected David Frost, will also have a seat at the table. Frost was previously Boris Johnson’s chief Brexit negotiator and was controversially promoted last week, reportedly amid a power struggle in No10.

The newly formed Cabinet committee will reportedly “set the UK Government strategic agenda on the Union”, according to reports on the BBC.

A senior source told the broadcaster that the Union Unit would no longer play a key role.

The beleaguered task force has lost two bosses in the space of two weeks. First, former Conservative MP Luke Graham was relieved of his duties following a “brutal” row with Johnson on his return from a highly criticised trip to Scotland.

Graham’s replacement, former Vote Leave veteran Oliver Lewis, stepped down from his new role just two weeks later.

The National: Luke Graham was relieved of his role as head of the Union Unit after Boris Johnson's controversial Scotland visitLuke Graham was relieved of his role as head of the Union Unit after Boris Johnson's controversial Scotland visit

Henry Newman, an ally of the Prime Minister’s fiancee who was reportedly going to be drafted in to lead the unit, will be giving Downing Street “political steer”, according to political blog Guido Fawkes.

Boris Johnson appointed himself Minister for the Union after he became Prime Minister, a role which has proven obscure. Its responsibilities are listed on the government website as working “to ensure that all of government is acting on behalf of the entire United Kingdom: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales”.

A report in The Telegraph last week said Boris Johnson had been told: “The First Minister of Scotland is thinking 24/7 'how do I advance the cause for separation'. You need someone senior in the UK Government devoting an equal amount of time to thinking how you strengthen the UK and make it flourish for the long term."

Johnson has tasked Michael Gove with the brief of keeping the UK whole.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson's team of Union advisers to 'triple in size to 30-50 staff'

Responding to the news of this dramatic shift in Unionist strategy, SNP MP Pete Wishart wrote: “The tortured life and death of their ‘Union Unit’ has been one of the most compelling little psycho dramas that has ever existed in the ‘preservation’ of their ‘precious Union’.

“They are utterly clueless in how to confront their Union’s inevitable demise.”

Economist and former SNP MSP Andrew Wilson quoted the band The Smiths in his response, writing: “I know it’s over and it never really began.”

Concerns have been raised among Unionists that the new committee will be equally ineffective without the correct infrastructure in place beneath it to carry out its decisions.

The Union Unit currently employs 15 people – but is looking to triple in size to as many as 30-50 team members, according to reports.

The SNP's Westminster Deputy leader Kirsten Oswald MP reiterated calls for Johnson to reveal exactly how much taxpayer cash had been "wasted" on the Union Unit.

She said: "This is utterly humiliating for Boris Johnson. The only thing his failed Union Unit has delivered has been a sacking, a resignation and now its reported collapse within a matter of weeks.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson urged to reveal Union Unit's cost to taxpayer

"The entire shambolic episode is the perfect analogy for the Tory government's undemocratic anti-independence stance - crumbling under the first sign of any pressure.

"The reality is that no amount of rebranding or merging can take away from the fact the Tories are in turmoil and their anti-independence campaign in disarray.

"However, the reported collapse raises serious questions over how much of the taxpayers' money Boris Johnson has wasted on the Union Unit - with the public footing the bill for the six figure salaries of a number of advisors. The public have a right to know how their money is being spent - Boris Johnson must come clean.

"Twenty-one consecutive polls have now shown a majority for independence. People in Scotland have the right to decide what sort of country we should be after the pandemic. 

"With both votes SNP in May, we can ensure Scotland's future is in Scotland's hands - not Boris Johnson's."