Lee Cain Explained

Lee Cain
Office:Downing Street Director of Communications
Termstart:24 July 2019
Termend:31 December 2020
Predecessor:Robbie Gibb
Successor:James Slack
Primeminister:Boris Johnson
Birth Name:Lee Edward Cain
Education:Ormskirk Grammar School
Alma Mater:Staffordshire University

Lee Edward Cain (born 1981)[1] is a British public relations professional and former journalist who served as Downing Street Director of Communications under Boris Johnson from July 2019 until the end of 2020.[2]

Education

Cain attended Ormskirk Grammar School and graduated from Staffordshire University.[3]

Career

Cain began his career as a journalist at the Gloucester Citizen and The Sun before moving to the Daily Mirror. While working for the Mirror in the run-up to the 2010 general election,[4] Cain was used to taunt David Cameron and other Conservative MPs dressed as a chicken.[5] [6]

After leaving his position as a senior media advisor for Slater and Gordon Lawyers, Cain moved into politics to become head of broadcast for the Vote Leave campaign.[7] In addition to serving at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under Andrea Leadsom and Michael Gove, he briefly worked for Theresa May before leaving to work with Johnson while he was serving as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.[8]

Cain served as the Downing Street Director of Communications from 2019 to 2020. In an article about the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Johnson was hospitalised, it was commented that "Lee was running the country, genuinely, for quite some time."[9] In November 2020, Cain resigned from his position, and stated that he would leave office at the end of the year.[10] [11] Cain had previously been mentioned as a possible selection for Downing Street Chief of Staff.[12]

In 2021, Cain started his own PR communications agency, Charlesbye.[13] In 2021, The Guardian reported the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) warned that Cain could be seen to offering "unfair" access to clients given his former role.[14]

In popular culture

In the 2023 Channel 4 docudrama Partygate, Cain was played by Craig Parkinson.[15]

Notes and References

  1. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/13231882/persons-with-significant-control Lee Edward Cain, "Charlesbye Limited", Companies House
  2. News: Former Citizen reporter becomes new PM's Communications chief. Phillips. Jenni. 24 July 2019. Gloucestershire Live. 27 July 2019.
  3. News: 11 November 2020. Lee Cain is tipped as No 10's next chief of staff, but who is he?. 11 November 2020. The Guardian.
  4. News: Who is Lee Cain? A closer look at spin doctor who caused No 10 uproar. The Independent. Forrest. Adam. 12 November 2020. 12 November 2020.
  5. News: Rawlinson. Kevin. 30 July 2019. Boris Johnson's spin doctor 'used to dress up as Tory-ridiculing Mirror Chicken'. The Guardian. 1 August 2019. 0261-3077.
  6. News: McTague. Tom. 30 July 2019. I, Too, Have Dressed Up as a Chicken to Harass British Politicians. 1 August 2019. The Atlantic.
  7. News: The people trying to make Boris Johnson prime minister. 11 June 2019. The Independent. 27 July 2019.
  8. News: Who are Boris Johnson's key advisers?. BBC News. 25 July 2019. 27 July 2019.
  9. News: Cain. Lee. 12 March 2021. 'No 10 was a plague pit': how Covid brought Westminster to its knees. The Guardian. 13 March 2021.
  10. News: Morrison. Sean. 11 November 2020. PM's director of communications Lee Cain resigns after power struggle. 11 November 2020. Evening Standard.
  11. News: Lee Cain: Prime minister's director of communications resigns after power struggle. 11 November 2020. Sky News.
  12. News: Elgot. Jessica. 11 November 2020. Vote Leave's Lee Cain tipped as next Downing Street chief of staff. The Guardian. 11 November 2020. 0261-3077.
  13. News: Ex-Downing Street comms chief Lee Cain's first clients revealed. Harrington. John. PR Week. 11 October 2021. 11 December 2021.
  14. News: Davies . Rob . Mason . Rowena . 2021-11-11 . Boris Johnson's ex-aide was warned by regulator over access as a consultant . The Guardian . 2023-05-02 . 0261-3077.
  15. Meet the cast of Partygate on Channel 4 . . 24 October 2023 . 3 October 2023.