Angela Rayner has hit out at the Prime Minister's new staffing appointments - describing the move as 'frantically rearranging deckchairs'.
Boris Johnson has tonight (February 5) announced two new appointments at Number 10 which he claims will improve the way it is run.
Journalist Guto Harri has been named director of communications at Number 10, while Steve Barclay will become the PM’s chief of staff.
However, Mr Barclay already serves as the MP for North East Cambridgeshire and as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in Mr Johnson's cabinet.
Ashton-under-Lyne MP Angela Rayner, who is Labour's deputy leader, has described the move as a 'farce' - insisting the chief of staff should be taken on by someone full-time.
She told PA: "Boris Johnson is panicking as he frantically rearranges deckchairs.
"The Prime Minister has clearly run out of serious people willing to serve under his chaotic and incompetent leadership, so now expects a cabinet minister to be his chief of staff.
“This is a farce. Being Number 10 chief of staff is a 24/7 job so if Steve Barclay is taking it on as his third job then Tory MPs and the public can have no confidence that the dysfunction in Downing Street will come to an end.
“Steve Barclay’s constituents and the public deserve more respect. So much for Boris Johnson’s promise to get a grip, instead this is just a further collapse into chaos.”
The appointments come at the back of a turbulent week for the Prime Minister, who saw four aides resign within hours of each other and a number of letters of no confidence be submitted in his leadership by backbench Conservative MPs.
It follows the backlash to partygate, with the initial Sue Gray reporting confirming 16 alleged gatherings, and false comments Mr Johnson made on Monday which suggested Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had been responsible for not prosecuting sex offender Jimmy Saville when he was director of public prosecutions.
Mr Barclay says he is ready for the new role.
He wrote on Twitter: “It is an honour to have been asked by the PM to serve as Chief of Staff for No10 Downing Street alongside my responsibilities in the Cabinet Office.
“I am looking forward to working with the PM, Ministers and Parliamentary colleagues on the issues that matter most to our country.”
Announcing the two new appointments earlier today, Mr Johnson said: “The changes I’m announcing to my senior team today will improve how Number 10 operates, strengthen the role of my Cabinet and backbench colleagues, and accelerate our defining mission to level up the country.”
