Close. Carrie’s treatment sparked an open letter condemning the coverage signed by then fellow Tories Anna Soubry and Nicky Morgan, as well as Labour’s Stella Creasy and Jess Phillips, a reflection of the warmth she inspired. Sonia Purnell separates truth from gossip – and discovers that she might just be his secret weapon for securing the keys to Number 10.

[6] She worked at Conservative Campaign Headquarters,[7] and later campaigned for Boris Johnson in the 2010 London Conservative Party mayoral selection. There were unconfirmed reports of rows about Carrie’s alleged conflict of interest between her new boyfriend and Mrs May.

Charles Kennedy Lib Dem. The same Harry Cole who's ex girlfriend Carrie Symonds left him while she was having an affiar with Boris Johnson. [17], Symonds reportedly began an affair with British politician Boris Johnson, then the Foreign Secretary, in 2018. Where did I see him last? She has also worked for Conservative MPs Sajid Javid (as a media special adviser) and John Whittingdale. Or take (another) look through the telescope.

EMOTIONAL TIES: Sophie Ellis-Bextor on her freakily favourite things. [14], On 29 February 2020, Symonds and Johnson announced that they became engaged in late 2019 and were expecting a baby in mid-2020. It was perhaps her desire to instil the same sense of order into Boris’s life as in her own that led Carrie to ensure he tame his hair into a neat short back and sides. Twitter. They suggest that Boris is devastated by the anger of his wife and children (who struggle to forgive his disloyalty) and is ‘psychologically unfit’ to prove himself as a devoted long-term partner to Carrie, let alone a viable leadership contender or PM. Or help with her hunters in the snow jigsaw. In 2007, aged 19, Symonds was driven home from a King's Road nightclub by taxi-driver John Worboys, who in 2009 was convicted of multiple sexual assaults on his passengers. By early summer, there was word of anger in Downing Street that the party communications chief was consorting with a figure seen as vandalising the PM’s quest to push through her Brexit deal. Ministers said they were powerless to reverse the decision.

In early 2019, Carrie was romantically linked to former English Foreign Secretary and outspoken politician, Boris Johnson. And although she was a confirmed Brexiteer, Carrie’s generally relatively liberal world-view was also seen to be at odds with the PM’s more old-fashioned outlook. ", "Who is Carrie Symonds?

It’s also likely that thanks to her efforts more women have come forward and Worboys now faces another four counts of sexual assault. Boris Johnson is being transformed before our eyes, and many point to his much younger, more politically progressive new love as the reason. ‘He quickly rode on to the back of her work, with his talk of banning plastic straws, which got him a lot of favourable coverage.’ However, old-fashioned Tories cared for neither the green agenda nor her boldness in challenging a Cabinet minister over the parole board rules. Boris Johnson's sat down for a socially-distanced interview with The Sun's Harry Cole ... the birth of baby son Wilfred with fiancee Carrie Symonds. [5] As of May 2020[update], he is in the process of divorcing his second wife, Marina Wheeler. At least I know the protection officers are with him. Despite the age gap, the pair are seen in some quarters as the dynamic duo of Tory politics just as Theresa May’s tenure in Downing Street runs out. Maybe it was the satisfaction, in March 2009, of seeing Worboys finally brought to justice (with convictions for 19 offences including one rape) that renewed her confidence and allowed her to go on to secure a first-class degree. Carrie Symonds (born 17 March 1988) is a British political activist, conservationist, and the fiancée of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson.She is the first unmarried partner of a Prime Minister to reside in 10 Downing Street.She works as a senior … All Rights Reserved. [14] An association representing farmers, the NFU, believes this meeting and Symonds' influence played a key role in the government ignoring scientific advice in favour of retaining the cull. Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds pictured in February, when he stepped in to help save her job Credit: London News Pictures. Carrie is also said to be madly in love with an equally enamoured 54-year-old wannabe prime minister, Boris Johnson, who cycles across London late at night to be with her. Boris’s rather more rumbustious younger life was left unexamined. She later recalled Worboys offering her champagne and vodka, which she believed was spiked and, after returning home, "vomiting and laughing hysterically before passing out until 3pm the next day". Later she contacted the police; it was, she has since said, the loss of control over her fate that disturbed her most. ‘But without her courage, he would by now be out on the streets.’. Driven surely by her fears as well as anger at this blatant injustice – shared by many other of his victims – she helped to support a judicial review, backed by more than £60,000 raised through crowdfunding and the strategic placing of newspaper articles, to seek to change the rules on releasing the most dangerous prisoners. But what is wrong with me, here I am writing this from actual Mustique! EMOTIONAL TIES: Olly Murs reveals the stories behind his favourite things. Although able to make friends from backgrounds different to her own, Carrie had come from a fancy school – the £20,000-a-year Godolphin and Latymer in West London, alma mater of Nigella Lawson and Annunziata Rees-Mogg. Step forward Harry Cole, exponent extraordinaire of the loud and shouty. Worboys initially seemed a well-meaning cabbie who offered her a cheap £5 ride home, although the last thing she remembers is being unwilling to accept the drink he kept pressing on her and that she believes was spiked. Worboys ‘is a danger to society. Previously she had proved her mettle as special adviser to John Whittingdale at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, followed by a stint with the now Home Secretary Sajid Javid. That New Year’s beach party! Perhaps foremost among them was Boris, who joined Gove and ‘The Saj’ at her 30th birthday party in March last year. ‘She had to face Worboys all over again,’ recalls another friend. In which our heroine contemplates the beauty of Mustique and searches for the PM. [23] On 16 August 2019, she made her first public appearance since entering 10 Downing Street, when she addressed what she called the "gigantic" climate crisis. 1 year ago. I feel so angry that he pleaded not guilty and made us go through the pain of giving evidence in court.’. The secret diary of Carrie Symonds Politics This article is more than 7 months old. [16], Symonds was the youngest of Worboys' victims, and waived her anonymity to talk about her experiences and, later, to campaign against his early release. The sleeker hair! Boris Johnson's partner could make history by moving into 10 Downing Street", "Boris Johnson's partner 'left £80k Tory HQ job over unauthorised expense claims, "The Londoner: Tory staffers rally behind Carrie Symonds", "PM's row with Lynton Crosby over briefings against girlfriend Carrie Symonds", "Court to probe Carrie Symonds' influence on PM after cancellation of badger cull", "John Worboys: Victim Carrie Symonds' story", "Carrie Symonds: It's such a relief to know John Worboys will stay in prison", "Boris Johnson agrees divorce settlement with Marina Wheeler", "Boris Johnson becomes UK's new prime minister", "Why Carrie Symonds is the embodiment of the Boris Johnson brand", "Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds move into Downing Street", "The Women Who Stay With Problematic Men", "Carrie Symonds, girlfriend of British PM Boris Johnson, has been denied a visa to the US", "Carrie Symonds to carry out first solo event since Boris Johnson became PM at 'birdwatchers' Glastonbury, "Carrie Symonds warns politicians of 'gigantic' climate crisis responsibility", "Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds engaged and expecting baby", "Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds name baby boy Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson after doctors who saved PM's life", "Italian airport quashes claims of secret Boris Johnson trip", "What drives First Fiancée Carrie Symonds, asks Freddy Gray", Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, September 2019 suspension of rebel Conservative MPs, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carrie_Symonds&oldid=980208454, People educated at Godolphin and Latymer School, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing potentially dated statements from May 2020, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 25 September 2020, at 06:28. Westminster sources suggest that ministers, understood to include Justice Secretary David Gauke, didn’t take kindly to her actions. [24][25], Concerns over the influence of Symonds on the prime minister were raised in January 2020, when it came to light that Symonds received briefs from animal rights activists just before government came to pull a planned cull on badgers in Derbyshire. Posted by. ‘Carrie might well have gone on to become a great MP, and was a person to watch long before Boris came on the scene,’ one admirer noted.

Carrie has even succeeded in persuading the cheese-and-chorizo fan to lose weight, leading a noticeably slighter Boris to complain of being forced to eat a breakfast ‘like some Georgian hermit of porridge with a luxury sprinkling of nuts’. It was as if even then she took it upon herself to represent others, perhaps understanding she had the physical and mental resources to do so when they might not. But he was now bombarding her with flirtatious messages. By the time she finally got home she collapsed in front of her mother, laughing hysterically and being violently sick until she passed out. Some friends hope her affair with Boris will be only a passing infatuation so that she too can aim for the top. As a close friend says, ‘Carrie can cope with the Worboys thing but only by knowing for sure that he is behind bars.’.

Steve Bird, Danielle Sheridan and Helena Horton (3 May 2020), "Baby Johnson named in tribute to doctors", 2010 London Conservative Party mayoral selection, "Who is Carrie Symonds and what does she do? Even so, it’s likely to have been her influence that has seen him try to repair damage caused by his incendiary remarks – hence his Twitter video wishing Muslims a peaceful Ramadan after comparing niqab-wearers to bank robbers or letterboxes. ‘It was a huge kick in the teeth to hear he was to be let out,’ recalls a friend. ‘But being with Boris will hinder rather than help her as it will be all about him – and she will be tainted.’ One concerned friend fretted, ‘It takes a brave person to be the third Mrs Boris Johnson, and it’s not necessarily a great job.’.