Chaos as Rishi Sunak ‘blocks’ NHS waiting list catch-up plan

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Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak put on an awkward show of unity today after the Chancellor was accused of blocking a multi-billion pound NHS catch-up plan.

The PM insisted they were ‘working together in harmony’ and he had ‘absolutely’ no doubts about Mr Sunak’s loyalty as the pair visited a cancer treatment centre in Kent.

Mr Johnson did unveil a target that no-one will have to wait more than two months for a cancer diagnosis by March 2023. But he had been hoping to unveil a full blueprint for tackling the record backlog for treatments, as he scrambles to get his premiership back on track.

But the publication of the NHS elective recovery plan has been bumped as ministers failed to sign off the draft document. 

Health service insiders suggested the Chancellor is dragging his feet, and compared the situation to the way Gordon Brown hampered Tony Blair’s policies towards the end of his time in power. There is speculation the Treasury is demanding tough targets in return for funding – although Sajid Javid blamed Omicron for the delay.

Speaking to reporters without Mr Sunak this afternoon, Mr Johnson said: ‘Everybody in No 10 and the Treasury are working together in harmony to deal with the big problems that the country faces and clearing the Covid backlogs.’ 

The £12billion a year national insurance hike coming in from April is being allocated to the NHS and social care reforms, with £5.9billion earmarked for investing in elective surgery, diagnostics, and technology over the next three years 

The hold-up will fuel anxiety about Mr Johnson’s authority after the Partygate crisis sparked a welter of calls from Tories for him to quit. Mr Sunak, seen as a potential successor, last week pointedly disowned a jibe Mr Johnson made at Keir Starmer for failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile.

The PM moved to ‘reset’ his top team over the weekend by bringing in former journalist Guto Harri as his communications director, and making Cabinet minister Steve Barclay his chief of staff.

He is expected to make more appointments in the coming days, as well as carrying out a mini-reshuffle of the government’s much-criticised whipping operation. 

As the intense manoeuvring continued in Westminster today:

Mr Johnson has laughed off a revelation from Mr Harri that the PM sang Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I will survive’ as they talked about him taking a job in Downing Street; Mr Harri also took a swipe at the Partygate drinking culture in No10 by arriving for his first day carrying mineral water and healthy snacks; Mr Javid lashed out at ‘sexist’ attacks on the PM’s wife Carrie over her influence in Downing Street;  The new No10 policy head has vowed to reconnect the MP with backbench Tories and hinted that taxes will be cut soon; Mr Javid said he has ‘100 per cent’ confidence in the PM and insisted there will not be a leadership contest soon; Dominic Cummings is threatening to drop more revelations about the refurbishment of the PM’s grace-and-favour flat. 

Asked if he ever worried Mr Sunak might be after his job, Mr Johnson said: ‘I think that what we’re doing is working together across the whole of Government to fix the Covid backlogs which, believe me, is a massive priority for us, for everybody in the country.’

Pressed on whether he had doubts about the Chancellor’s loyalty, Mr Johnson said: ‘Absolutely not.’

He added: ‘What I would say is that it’s thanks to the investment that we’re able to put in, thanks to the sound management of the economy, everything that we did, if you think about it, all the looking after business throughout the pandemic, that’s enabled our economy to bounce back so well, that in turn enables us to put the investment that we need now in the NHS.’

Mr Johnson told journalists at Maidstone Hospital that he was focusing ‘beyond Westminster’.

‘I think what people want is for the Government to focus, not on stuff going on at Westminster, but to focus on life… beyond Westminster, and to focus on the needs of the country. And that is what we’re doing.’ 

He also sidestepped questions over whether people are entitled to criticise the role played by his wife, Carrie, after a series of revelations about her role in a new book by former Tory peer Lord Ashcroft.

The PM said: ‘I think it’s entirely fair for people to focus on the issues that I’m focused on and that is number one, our priority, which is to tackle the Covid backlogs and rebuild our economy.’

Downing Street said further personnel changes would be announced ‘in the coming days’ as it was confirmed an aide seen as close to Mrs Johnson had left No10.

Special adviser Henry Newman is returning to work for his former boss Michael Gove and has left in a ‘mutually agreed decision with the Prime Minister’.

The PM’s official spokesman said there would be further changes ‘in the coming days’.

‘We still need to announce the new permanent secretary for No 10, for example. So there will be additional recruitment into No 10 and there’s an ongoing process for the PPS (principal private secretary) role too, so that needs to be announced.’ 

Earlier, Mr Javid said the plans would be published ‘shortly’, arguing that Omicron had already forced the government to hold off in December.

He told Sky News: ‘We will publish the plan shortly. What I would say about the Treasury is that I couldn’t wish for a better partner when it comes to the challenges I have. I don’t recognise that (suggestion) at all.

‘Having been chancellor, having a close relationship with the Treasury, having a strong partnership for any department is crucial and right now for health and care I am just really pleased we have got that really good working relationship.’

A Treasury source denied that Mr Sunak had blocked the publication of the plan. 

‘We didn’t block, the NHS agreed with us it’s not ready yet,’ the source said. 

But Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘Increasingly getting the sense that Johnson now faces the same (but more intense and short-term) challenges Tony Blair had in his third term, namely that HMT (HM Treasury) is loath to agree to any No 10 plans involving money, as the Chancellor sees these as opportunistic and wasted on a dying administration.’

Mr Taylor worked as head of policy in No 10 under Mr Blair.

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, has called for a plan to deal with the NHS backlog in England to be published ‘as quickly as possible’.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘We need to see this plan as quickly as possible because trust leaders are really keen to plough on and make their way through these very long waiting lists which have built up during the pandemic, and indeed pre-existed the pandemic.

‘What we’re waiting for is a set of priorities and measures and procedures that will be put in place to support trusts, to enable them to boost their activity levels, so it will be measures to free up clinician times, it will be measures to support trusts to work more effectively together.

‘Critically, it will be measures to help to keep patients well while they wait for their procedures and also be how, perhaps, the independent sector might be used and really importantly, it will be how that £8 billion worth of funding will be allocated, so there is a lot of detail still to see.’ 

Although the full recovery plan to bring down waits for hospital operations has been delayed, Mr Javid is announcing part of it today.

A planned radical overhaul of hospital operations may allow patients to find out the waiting time at their local hospital.

In the future it is understood people could be able to ‘shop around’ for the hospital with the shortest waiting list and book themselves in for a procedure there directly, no matter where in the country it is. 

The major change to planned operations such as hip replacements and cataract surgery will begin being introduced this month. Anyone booked in for surgery will be able to better understand how long they are likely to wait to go under the knife at their local hospital.

It is part of the NHS’s My Planned Care Platform, set up to help tackle the backlog of almost six million people waiting for operations following the pandemic.

The scheme also involves the roll-out of more than 100 diagnostic centres, providing tests and scans to push people through the healthcare system more rapidly.

The Department of Health and Social Care says a third of on-the-day operation cancellations happen because people are not medically ready for treatment, for example because they have a long-term condition, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, which has not been managed properly.

The new plan will also involve getting fit for surgery, such as providing advice on a better diet and exercise, or help to stop smoking.

Mr Javid said: ‘At the height of the pandemic the NHS rightly focused on treating Covid-19 patients, but sadly it has meant waiting lists have risen – and the Covid backlog is going to keep rising. This platform… will help us ensure access to life-changing care and support for people no matter who they are or where they live.’

The platform will be launched on the NHS website later this month and is hoped to be added to the NHS app in the future. 

In October Sir James Mackey, who is advising NHS England on dealing with the backlog of care, told an event run by the Health Foundation that the ‘waiting experience is handled very badly’.

He said: ‘People go into the system, get referred to the system, and have almost no interaction that gives them confidence of where they are in the queue, what’s going to happen next, and have no control over that – and I think that’s fundamentally wrong.’

The platform will include waiting times and information to help people manage their conditions while they wait for treatment.

Mr Javid today pleaded for Tories to ‘move on’ from plotting against Boris Johnson as the PM desperately tries to ‘reset’ his government.

The Health Secretary said he was ‘100 per cent’ backing Mr Johnson and predicted there will not be a leadership contest, despite months of rising unrest in the Conservative ranks. 

The comments came as one would-be successor, backbencher Tom Tugendhat made clear there will be a move against the premier unless his overhaul of No10 staff works. Mr Tugendhat also renewed his call for the £12billion national insurance hike to be abandoned – a popular rallying cry among Tories.

Meanwhile, Dominic Cummings is expected to publish more allegations about Mr Johnson’s controversial refurbishment of the Downing Street flat, as he continues his campaign to evict him from power.

The PM launched a bid to stabilise his No10 operation over the weekend following a series of dramatic departures.

Cabinet minister Steve Barclay has become Mr Johnson’s new chief of staff, while former journalist and long-time ally Guto Harri is the new No10 director of communications. 

No10 is believed to be lining up Dame Emily Lawson as the permanent secretary in a new PM department this week.

Dame Emily, who currently runs NHS England’s vaccination programme, was seconded to Downing Street’s delivery unit – a team in charge of ensuring the Government delivers on its policies – in April last year before returning to the health service in October.

In an extraordinary interview with Welsh language website view360, Mr Harri revealed that Mr Johnson sang ‘I Will Survive’ to persuade him to take the job. He also took the knee in an apparently reference to Mr Harri’s decision to do the same on GB News. 

‘I walked in and did a salute and said ‘ Prime Minister, Guto Harri reporting for duty’ and he stood up from behind his desk and started taking the salute but then he said ‘What am I doing, I should take the knee for you,’ the No10 spin chief said according to a Google translation.

‘And we both laughed. Then I asked ‘ Are you going to survive Boris? ‘And he said in his deep, slow and purposeful voice and started to sing a little while finishing the sentence and saying ‘ I Will Survive ‘.

‘I inevitably invited him to say ‘ You’ve got all your life to live’ and he replied, ‘ I’ve got all my love to give’, so we had a little blast from Gloria Gaynor!

‘No one expects that, but it was.

‘There was a lot of laughter and we sat down to have a serious conversation about how to get the Government back on track and how we are moving forward,’ he added.

Mr Harri insisted the recent Partygate row had ‘nothing to do with the way people voted two years ago’.

And he argued that while Mr Johnson is a ‘very likeable character’ he is not ‘clownish’.

The beleaguered leader has been left badly wounded by the Partygate saga, with a police investigation still hanging over his head.

His refusal to apologise for a ‘slur’ about Keir Starmer’s failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile also enraged many Tories – and sparked the resignation of his long-standing aide Munira Mirza.

Tory MP Andrew Griffith has now taken over from Ms Mirza as head of the Downing Street policy unit.   

The government is also battling to quell panic over the rising cost of living and looming hike in national insurance.

Asked in a round of interviews this morning if the PM has his full confidence, Mr Javid told BBC Breakfast: ‘Absolutely, 100 per cent, and I’ll tell you why.

‘Because despite the challenges, and of course there are many, we are delivering, this Prime Minister is delivering. When he was elected with a record majority, so many commitments rightly were made to the British people.

‘He’s saved this country from Corbynism, he’s delivered on Brexit, we’re getting on with the job of levelling up, he’s delivered the most successful vaccination programme in Europe, the biggest booster programme in Europe, making us the freest country in Europe and we have the fastest growing economy in the G7.’

Mr Javid told Sky News: ‘I don’t think there is going to be a leadership election. We have got a leader in place who is doing an excellent job, is getting on with the job, is delivering on the commitments that we made, and I am there to support him, along with the rest of us.’

Mr Javid said it was time to ‘move on’ from the controversy over the Prime Minister’s attack on Sir Keir Starmer over the CPS’s failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile when he was director of public prosecutions – a claim which had widely been discredited.

Mr Tugendhat – the only Tory who has formally declared they want to take over from Mr Johnson – took to the airwaves again this morning.

He laid down a marker by insisting that Mr Johnson’s fate will hang on the success of his shake-up.    

BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I think the Prime Minister has just done his reset, let’s see what Number 10 brings out because there’s an awful lot of talent going in, as you know, there’s an awful lot of talent coming out, and let’s see what changes are.

‘I mean this is a decision clearly for 360 or so members of Parliament and let’s see where it goes to, but I think the point remains that we’ve got to be looking at the future, we’ve got to be looking at what’s best for the British people and focus absolutely on how we achieve the results that we really need for this country’.

He went on to say: ‘This is a time when we need to be really focused on what politics is actually here for, and that’s helping others and not getting into some sort of personal psychodrama’.

Asked if the ‘personal psychodrama’ could finish with an end to the Prime Minister’s leadership, Mr Tugendhat, who intends to stand for Tory leader if Mr Johnson is voted out, said: ‘Well it depends how the reset goes. Going into a leadership election is hardly ending a psychodrama.’

Mr Johnson has promised fundamental change to reassure his restive troops. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said yesterday: ‘I think the Prime Minister has been very clear that he wants a reset in No 10.

‘He was very clear speaking to Conservative MPs on Monday and what we saw last week was him following through with that commitment.’

According to The Times, Mr Barclay and Mr Harri joined the PM at Chequers over the weekend to start work on building a more ‘grown-up’ Government.

Mr Kwarteng urged those still unsure about Mr Johnson’s future to give him the ‘time and space’ to lead.

Former Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick warned last night that ‘it is undoubtedly true that public concern is very deep, the damage to the party’s reputation is serious, and will take a considerable effort to change that’ and that he had ‘a great deal of sympathy for many of those colleagues who have come out and said that they feel that change is necessary’.

But he told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour: ‘There’s also very little public appetite for the Conservative Party – at this moment in time, when we’re facing a cost of living crisis and insecurity abroad – to descend into a leadership contest and all the damage that does.’

Thrown under a bus to save Boris and Carrie: PM clears out chief of staff ‘Party’ Marty Reynolds and comms chief Jack Doyle and brings in minister Steve Barclay and former GB News presenter Guto Harri as allies claim the ‘grown-ups are back in charge’ 

Boris Johnson‘s new-look No10 team starts work today after a turbulent week in Downing Street that saw senior aides to take the blame for Partygate.

The Prime Minister made key changes over the weekend, appointing Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay as his new chief of staff and journalist and long-time ally Guto Harri as his head of communications.

And The Times reported No 10 was hoping to announce the return of Dame Emily Lawson as the new permanent secretary this week. 

He had already unveiled MP Andrew Griffiths as the head of the Downing Street policy unit after the departure of Munira Mirza, the only unplanned departure from his top team last week.

After she stepped down on Thursday, attacking the PM over a Jimmy Savile-linked attack on Keir Starmer, the PM used the furore to make public the defenestration of three other top figures.

Dan Rosenfield was removed as chief of staff and Martin Reynolds as his principal private secretary. Reynolds was dubbed ‘Party Marty’ after his key role in organising a BYOB drinks event in the Downing Street garden. Rosenfield paid the price for the drinking culture and indiscipline in No10. Communications Director Jack Doyle also stepped down after two years.

Mr Johnson is expected to make more appointments in the coming days, as well as carrying out a mini-reshuffle of the government’s much-criticised whipping operation.

Chief whip Mark Spencer, who has come in for major criticism, seems almost certain to be removed.

It comes as the PM tries to see off questions of whether he himself can continue in power, with Tory MPs rebellious and his poll position dire after months of scandals.

Downing Street said further personnel changes would be announced ‘in the coming days’ as it was confirmed an aide seen as close to Carrie Johnson had left No 10.

Special adviser Henry Newman is returning to work for his former boss Michael Gove and has left in a ‘mutually agreed decision with the Prime Minister’.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said there would be further changes ‘in the coming days’.

‘We still need to announce the new permanent secretary for No 10, for example. So there will be additional recruitment into No 10 and there’s an ongoing process for the PPS (principal private secretary) role too, so that needs to be announced.’

On the ministerial side, some of new chief of staff Stephen Barclay’s Cabinet Office role will be ‘shared among Cabinet Office ministers’.

He we look at the ins and outs in Downing Street: 

CHIEF OF STAFF

Out: Dan Rosenfield

In: Steve Barclay MP

Mr Rosenfield had faced criticism for a perceived lack of control and discipline in Number 10.

Sue Gray’s report into Partygate last week was highly critical of the alcohol-fuelled culture, saying: ‘The excessive consumption of alcohol is not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time. 

‘Steps must be taken to ensure that every Government Department has a clear and robust policy in place covering the consumption of alcohol in the workplace. 

No10 made clear afterwards that no officials have been sacked, although a notorious wine fridge is apparently being removed from the building and restrictions could be imposed on drinking at desks.

But Mr Rosenfield’s replacement with former Brexit minister Steve Barclay has raised eyebrows.

He is close to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, having previously been his deputy at the Treasury.

There are also questions about how he juggled his many responsibilities. Mr Barclay is already Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Cabinet Office Minister and the MP for North East Cambridgeshire. 

Yesterday, Nick Timothy, who acted as joint chief of staff to Theresa May during her first year in Downing Street, said it was ‘surely not possible to be chief of staff while serving elsewhere as a minister’.

He said the ‘sheer workload’ would be a ‘problem’, adding: ‘It’s a recipe for chaos, when these changes were supposed to bring order.’

Lord Barwell, who took over as Mrs May’s chief of staff following the 2017 general election, said Mr Barclay would have to find ‘a different way’ to do the job than he did ‘because he’s combining it with being a Government minister and an MP at the same time’.

HEAD OF NO10 POLICY UNIT 

Out: Munira Mirza

In: Andrew Griffiths MP 

The only unscripted departure last week was that of policy chief Munira Mirza.

The 44-year-old had worked with the PM for 14 years, including when he was mayor of London, quit over an attack on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer

Under pressure at the despatch box over Sue Gray’s Partygate report on Monday the PM claimed the Labour leader had ‘used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile‘ while running the Crown Prosecution Service.

Quitting on Thursday, Mirza said she had urged him to fully apologise for using a ‘scurrilous’ trope that originated on far right websites but he had refused.

Her swift departure was followed by an almost as swift replacement. 

Andrew Griffiths is a former Sky executive who was only elected to Parliament in 2019, but he was already Mr Johnson’s political private secretary. His links to the PM predate his election however.

When Mr Johnson  and his team were plotting his leadership buid in early 2019 they did so from Griffiths’ £9.5million Westminster townhouse a stone’s throw from the Commons. 

They used the Grade II-listed, five-storey home as a campaign headquarters and the PM has been quick to repay the favour.

Mr Griffith, who was Sky’s chief financial and chief operating officer, is believed to have gifted Johnson the use of his property. 

Writing about his plans for the policy chief job in Conservative Home today, Mr Griffith said he wants to ‘return rapidly to the point when we can cut taxes to let everyone keep more of their own money’.

He also said he wants to boost backbenchers’ involvement in matters of policy.

But he said ‘decisions are usually taken best close to where their impact is felt’, and ‘high-performing departments should expect a light touch approach, freeing up bandwidth for deeper interventions elsewhere’.

Mr Griffith said his ‘top priorities’ involve tackling the NHS backlog, reducing the cost of living and controlling the country’s borders, as well as getting the Tories back to a place where they can cut taxes.

‘You would not know it from the media headlines, but families want to hear about our plans to grow employment, tackle the NHS backlog, control our borders, make their streets safer, bring down the cost of living and return rapidly to the point when we can cut taxes to let everyone keep more of their own money – all policies that are rooted in strong Conservative values,’ he wrote.

‘As the Prime Minister’s director of policy, these are my top priorities together with delivering the tangible opportunities from Brexit that will allow our economy to be more competitive and the reform of government to deliver better public services.

‘Whilst the policy unit’s remit is to advise the Prime Minister across the widest breadth of government policy, we will be unafraid to ruthlessly focus on the key issues. It is ultimately outputs that matter.’

He also reiterated the PM’s plans to re-establish backbench policy committees.

‘A large majority is a poor substitute for proper engagement between ministers, No 10 and backbench colleagues who in many cases possess decades of relevant experience,’ he wrote.

‘The 1922 backbench policy committees – one covering each major Government department – will form just one part of changes in how a sleeker No 10 operation engages with Members of Parliament.

‘Ministers, too, will notice a difference. In today’s complex, competitive and dynamic environment it’s a fallacy to control everything too tightly from the centre.

‘Decisions are usually taken best close to where their impact is felt, and high-performing departments should expect a light touch approach, freeing up bandwidth for deeper interventions elsewhere.’

CHIEF WHIP 

In: TBC

Out: Mark Spencer

Tory chief whip Mark Spencer is not expected to last the week as the PM plots a small reshuffle.

The Sherwood MP has been the focus of ministerial ire after he failed to identify or quell a series of rebellions against the PM, including over Covid regulations and the plot to keep Owen Paterson in the Commons after he was caught lobbying.

He has also been accused of – and denied – blackmailing Mps with the loss of funding for their constituencies if they rebelled.

Those involved in the so-called Pork Pie Putsch – as it took place in the office of Alice Kearns MP for Melton Mowbray, the home of the pork pie – the group claim they have been the victims of political threats.

Party whips are accused of threatening to withdraw funding from their constituencies, while government aides allegedly smeared them by releasing unsubstantiated claims about their drinking habits and personal lives in the press. The claims have been denied by No 10.

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Out: Jack Doyle

In: Guto Harri  

Jack Doyle, the No10 director of communications, stepped down after he too was linked to some of the Downing Street lockdown parties.

The announcement came shortly after Mirza’s with the former journalist telling staff: ‘It was always my intention to do two years. Recent weeks have taken a terrible toll on my family life.’

Into his place, Guto Hari was announced at the weekend. He’s a former BBC journalist who worked in communications for Mr Johnson when he was mayor of London.

But his appointment may also raise some eyebrows at a time when the Government is in the middle of a culture war. 

Last summer, when he was a GB News presenter, Mr Harri was suspended and then left the channel after he was publicly reprimanded by the channel’s ‘anti-woke’ bosses for taking the knee live on television in protest at the racist abuse aimed at black England football stars.

He and  his co-host Mercy Muroki spoke about the vile abuse Three Lions stars Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka had received online, during which Mr Harri admitted he ‘gets’ why footballers take the knee before each game.

Mr Harri then proceeded to take the knee himself on air, sparking a viewer boycott and a public telling-off by GB News. In a statement, the channel said it was ‘unacceptable’ for any presenter to take the knee and accused Mr Harri of breaking its Editorial Charter. 

Supporters of the PM have previously claimed anyone who takes a knee, including police officers and sports stars, risks being seen to endorse some of the Left-wing ideas promoted by Black Lives Matter as well as opposing racism.

His role as a lobbyist for Huawei has also raised questions. He previously worked for Hawthorn Advisers and was involved in efforts to avoid a ban on the Chinese firm being involved in the UK’s 5G network, the Sun reported.

PRINCIPAL PRIVATE SECRETARY 

Out: Martin Reynolds

In: TBC 

Martin Reynolds’ time in No10 was effectively over once it was revealed he invited Downing Street staff to ‘socially distanced drinks’ when England was subject to strict Covid rules.

Mr Reynolds, the Prime Minister’s principal private secretary, invited more than 100 Downing Street staff to an event in the Number 10 garden on May 20, 2020.

An email obtained by ITV News showed he had invited staff to ‘make the most of the lovely weather’ and to ‘bring your own booze’.

Messages shown to the BBC revealed that some Number 10 employees were shocked by the invite.

One staff member who received the email wrote a message to another official at the time in which they said ‘is this for real?’.

Another similar message, seen by the BBC, stated: ‘Um. Why is Martin encouraging a mass gathering in the garden?’

However, questions remain over whether Mr Reynolds would have sent the message under his own authority and whether Mr Johnson was involved.

Campaigners had called for his sacking, with the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group saying last month ‘it’s blindingly obvious that Martin Reynolds has to go’.

But Downing Street initially defended him, saying Mr Johnson has ‘full confidence’ in Mr Reynolds and ‘Martin continues in his role’.

He has yet to be replaced. 

PERMANENT SECRTARY, OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER 

Out: New role

In: Dame Emily Lawson

Dame Emily, who currently runs NHS England’s vaccination programme, was seconded to Downing Street’s delivery unit – a team in charge of ensuring the Government delivers on its policies – in April last year before returning to the health service in October. 

The Times reported No 10 was hoping to announce her return as the new permanent secretary this week. 

Dr Lawson impressed with the ‘brilliant’ way that she masterminded the rollout of mass vaccinations.

The medic, who is said to enjoy kickboxing, has won a reputation as one of the NHS’s most impressive bosses.

From November last year to this August, she led a small team of experts based in offices in Admiralty House – a grand 18th Century building on Whitehall – who oversaw NHS England’s ‘vaccine deployment programme’.

A huge network of vaccination centres and a simple booking system meant the UK outstripped EU countries, with more than a million jab appointments booked each day in June.

She worked at management consultancy firm McKinsey and the supermarket giant Morrisons, where she was human resources director, before becoming a senior NHS boss in 2017.

Earlier in the pandemic, as the NHS’s chief commercial officer, she was tasked with solving the health service’s dire shortage of PPE equipment.

Dr Lawson’s mother Annette, 85, is a campaigner for women’s rights, while her brother Ralph, 52, is an acclaimed music producer and DJ.