Boris Johnson’s chief of staff Dan Rosenfield among four top aides to quit
Former World Jewish Relief chair resigned alongside communications director Jack Doyle, PM's principal private secretary Martin Reynolds, and Munira Mirza, the PM's policy chief.
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Boris Johnson’s chief of staff Dan Rosenfield has resigned from his role on a day of crisis for the Prime Minister.
Former World Jewish Relief chair Rosenfield was one of four senior aides to quit their jobs within the PM’s inner circle on Thursday.
Downing Street confirmed Rosenfield – who reportedly attended a Christmas Party held in the office of Simon Case the head of the civil service, at a time when Covid restrictions forbade such gatherings – had offered his resignation “which has been accepted” earlier in the day.
His departure from No.10 had been widely expected since the allegations around the Downing Street party crisis began to surface.
An active member of Alyth Synagogue in Golders Green, Rosenfield began working as the PM’s chief of staff in January 2021.
He was widely praised by many in the community who expected him to restore order to the Prime Minister’s often chaotic operation after advisers Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain quit their jobs.
But one communal source told Jewish News they felt Rosenfield had been unable to instill the discipline many predicted he would within Downing Street.
One public relations expert claimed he had showed the PM “too much respect.’
Also resigning from their roles on Thursday were communications director Jack Doyle, the PM’s principal private secretary Martin Reynolds, and most significantly Munira Mirza, who had worked for Johnson for over a decade as his policy chief.
She quit in protest at the PM’s failure to apologise over a false slur about Sir Keir Starmer and the failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile.
In July last year reports claimed Rosenfield’s leadership was unpopular among some Downing Street staff members, including Nikki da Costa, the director of communications.
In December it was reported Rosenfield had attended a Christmas party held in the office of Simon Case. Downing Street denied these allegations.
But the police are now investigating 12 parties as a result of civil servant Sue Gray’s report into a succession of parties held in Downing Street during the lockdown.
The former Manchester Grammar School prefect was previously an official in the UK Treasury for over a decade, including four years as principal private secretary to Alistair Darling and George Osborne from 2007 to 2011.
Mr Rosenfield has previously said his Judaism is “pretty central” to his life.
He joined Number 10 from the Hakluyt, a strategic advisory firm for businesses and investors. Previously he was a director at Bank of America.
As a member of the Jewish Leadership Council, Mr Rosenfield was amongst the delegation of communal leaders to meet ex-PM Theresa May at Downing Street in 2017.
Addressing the WJR annual dinner in February 2020, Mr Rosenfield told the audience: “Look out beyond our own families and communities to those in the wider Jewish world less fortunate than us. Look out beyond our own to those struggling in the face of disaster.”
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