Senior Liz Truss aide ‘suspended amid ethics investigation’
Jason Stein - who has previously offered advice to the PM over matters affecting the Jewish community - is facing formal probe by the Cabinet Office propriety and ethics unit
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
One of the prime minister’s most senior advisers has been suspended from Downing Street pending an investigation.
Former King David School pupil Jason Stein, a special adviser to Liz Truss, is to face a formal probe by the Cabinet Office propriety and ethics unit.
It follows allegations that he was responsible for unauthorised negative briefings against former cabinet ministers.
Stein, who is Jewish, is believed to have previously helped the PM with earlier statements directed towards the Jewish community.
He also once accused a Labour MP of betraying the community in Bury, by defecting from the Tories.
A Downing Street spokesperson refused to comment on claims the probe centred on allegations Sajid Javid was labelled “s**t” in a newspaper report, following a briefing from an adviser.
The spokesperson said they would not discuss “staffing matters.”
But a No.10 source added: “The prime minister has made very clear to her team that some of the sort of briefings that we have seen about parliamentary colleagues are completely unacceptable and they must stop.”
The Sunday Times reported that a Number 10 source had told them Sajid Javid had not been considered for the chancellor role following Kwasi Kwarteng’s sacking because he is “s**t”.
Javid had been due to ask the first question at Prime Minister’s Question Time on Wednesday, but his question was withdrawn.
Jewish News understands that members of the Tory One Nation group openly complained to the PM about negative briefings from one of her advisers during a meeting on Monday.
Stein was a key aide during Truss’s leadership campaign and had been serving as the acting head of political communications in Number 10.
He worked for Truss when she was chief secretary to the Treasury, before becoming a special adviser to Amber Rudd and going on to work briefly for Prince Andrew and for FGS Global.
He has also previously worked on new chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s leadership campaign.
Jewish News has seen Twitter posts in which Stein suggested the former Tory MP Christian Wakeford had betrayed the Jewish community in Bury, by defecting to Labour.
In one post Stein accused MP Wakeford of “stabbing Jewish constituents in the back.”
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