Paul Ovenden, who served as Downing Street's Director of Strategy, has resigned after messages he wrote in 2017 about Labour MP Diane Abbott were made public. The leaked extracts, which appeared on an internal Labour messaging forum, included sexually explicit comments about Abbott and have drawn widespread condemnation.
The resignation comes amid a challenging period for No 10, which has faced several high-profile departures in recent weeks. The controversy has renewed scrutiny of workplace culture in Westminster and raised questions about how historic behaviour by staff should be addressed.
