Theresa May's aides in firing line after election woe

Theresa May's special advisers have been put in the firing line following the Conservatives' disastrous General Election result.Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, who both earn £140,000 per year, are the target of Tory anger after Mrs May threw away the party's House of Commons majority with her gamble on a snap General Election.

The joint Downing Street chiefs of staff were known for fiercely guarding Mrs May at the Home Office before following her to Number 10 last summer.

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The Prime Minister's reliance on the duo was laid bare after it emerged both briefly rejoined the Government on two recent occasions to help Mrs May deal with terror attacks in Manchester and London. The pair had quit their Downing Street roles in order to oversee the Conservatives' General Election campaign, in line with strict election rules.

Mr Timothy and Ms Hill's stranglehold on power in Whitehall has previously sparked accusations from Government ministers they act more like deputy prime ministers than special advisers.

Their central involvement in coordinating the Tory campaign and drafting Mrs May's manifesto is now the focus of MPs' fury at the General Election result.

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The Conservatives' social care fiasco, which derailed the manifesto, and Mrs May's tightly controlled campaign appearances are being blamed for the party's failure to win a majority.

Influential Tory backbench MP Sarah Wollaston has already called for the Prime Minister's "inner circle of special advisers" to go and for Mrs May to be "far more inclusive".

A number of other Conservative MPs are also reportedly ready to demand the pair leave Downing Street as the price of Mrs May's failure.

And the PM's former top spin doctor has now waded in arguing she should ditch her "rude, abusive and childish" aides.

In a scathing Times article, Katie Perrior, who worked with Mr Timothy and Ms Hill when she was Downing Street director of communications, was scathing of the pair.

She said: "The chiefs of staff were great street fighters but poor political leaders.

"Great leaders lead by bringing people with them, not alienating them before having even digested breakfast.

"What I could never work out was whether Mrs May condoned their behaviour and turned a blind eye or didn't understand how destructive they both were.

"For all the love of a hierarchy, the chiefs treated Cabinet members exactly the same - rude, abusive, childish behaviour.

"For two people who have never achieved elected office, I was staggered at the disrespect they showed on a daily basis. I never hated them. I felt sorry for them and how they measured success by how many enemies they had clocked up."

She added: "Mrs May doesn't need street fighters now, she needs people with charm and diplomacy to get her through the next few weeks and months."

Professor Meg Russell, director of University College London's constitution unit, told Sky News the Prime Minister's slashed number of MPs will require her to pursue a "very different form of politics" if she remains in Number 10.

She said: "It's got to be more consultative, more collaborative, and it's not really Theresa May's natural style. It's going to be very interesting to watch."

Julian McCrae, deputy director of the Institute for Government, said: "Theresa May has always run, in the Home Office and Number 10, a very close circle of people around her.

"That's Theresa May's chosen style and the style that she's been used too. It's reminiscent of Gordon Brown."

A former member of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's strategy unit, Mr McCrae revealed it is "really impossible to try and control everything" in Whitehall from Number 10.

The notoriety of special advisers grew under New Labour, with Tony Blair's spin chief Alastair Campbell arguably the most infamous Downing Street aide.

Indeed it is Mr Blair that oversaw an explosion in the number of special advisers in Downing Street, leading to criticism of his "sofa government" and bypassing of Cabinet ministers and MPs.

According to data from the UK Civil Service website, Mr Blair reached a high of 28 special advisers in Downing Street during his time in power.

By contrast, his predecessor John Major relied on just eight.

In 2014, there were 46 special advisers in Downing Street but the coalition government saw both Mr Cameron and the Liberal Democrats build their own separate teams of aides in Number 10.

NOTABLE SPECIAL ADVISERS

Ed Llewellyn - Chief of staff to David Cameron, with the pair having attended Eton at the same time. He headed what was branded a Number 10 "chumocracy" due to Mr Cameron's fondness for appointing friends.

Andy Coulson - Mr Cameron's director of communications before the former journalist was forced to resign amid the phone-hacking scandal.

Steve Hilton - Enjoyed the ear of Mr Cameron as his strategy chief, during which time he raised eyebrows by wandering Downing Street in just jeans, a t-shirt and socks.

Damian McBride - Forced to resign as a special adviser to Gordon Brown after it emerged he had discussed spreading rumours of the private lives of Tory MPs on a blog.

Alastair Campbell - Tony Blair's director of communications was involved in the "dodgy dossier", which argued the case for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Alan Walters - Chief economic adviser to Margaret Thatcher, whose clashes with her chancellor Nigel Lawson led to both men's resignation.