Chancellor’s adviser sacked ‘because she couldn’t be trusted’ over links to Philip Hammond’s aides
A GOVERNMENT aide was dramatically marched out of Downing Street by police over fears she couldn't be trusted, it was claimed today.
Sonia Khan, a Treasury adviser, was allegedly blasted by Boris Johnson's feared enforcer Dominic Cummings in a fiery encounter - and sacked on the spot.
Cummings - the Vote Leave mastermind brought in to Number 10 as Boris' chief adviser - was first alleged to have accused her of leaking information.
But today it emerged that the row was over whether Ms Khan had stayed in touch with people close to her former boss, Philip Hammond.
It's understood that Ms Khan was forced to hand over both her work and personal phone-logs to show who she had been calling.
A former aide to Mr Hammond said today: "It says it all that Dominic Cummings has taken such relish in firing yet another female Spad - it’s frankly pretty sick.
"She has no idea what she was accused of.
"The thought of Sonia - a passionate Leaver - leaking to Hammond and co is just fantasy."
Sources close to the former Chancellor denied that he'd spoken to Ms Khan since he left No11.
Senior Government sources today denied reports that it was because she was responsible for the Yellowhammer leak earlier this month.
The dossier predicting food, fuel and medicine shortages if we left the EU without a deal, ran in the Sunday Times earlier this month.
And it was revealed today that Sajid Javid, who Ms Khan was working for, only found out that his aide had been sacked after it happened.
He's yet to speak out about her sacking.
One source said Boris' top team were trying to "weaken him as much as possible, they want to put Sajid in his proverbial place.
"The last time a chancellor was so weakened was Alistair Darling under Gordon Brown."
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The PM and the chancellor are working closely together. It has already been an incredibly productive relationship.”
MARCHED OUT
Westminster insiders told the Cummings called the police and Ms Khan was led from the building at 8pm in front of shocked Downing Street staffers.
Her security pass was immediately revoked and her work mobile phone was confiscated, it was claimed.
A source told the Mail: "The cops marched her out of No10 while she protested her innocence. It was incredible."
Ms Khan had worked for Boris' top Tory opponent Mr Hammond when he was Chancellor - and was kept on by his successor Sajid Javid.
The Chancellor will now have to find a new adviser just days before he's expected to do his first major financial statement on Tuesday.
Several other special advisers to ministers have been sacked in recent weeks.
One Tory source told Politico: "It’s a bad look. Big thuggy bald blokes picking on the girl."
And others speculated there could be an employment tribunal on the cards.
"She will have a clear case for unfair dismissal," a Whitehall source added.
OPERATION YELLOWHAMMER
No 10 previously accused Hammond of leaking the Operation Yellowhammer dossier.
A No10 source said at the time: "It has been deliberately leaked by a former minister in an attempt to influence discussions with EU leaders."
Mr Hammond later wrote to the PM demanding an apology - while Labour called for the No Deal plans to be published in full.
Downing Street called Operation Yellowhammer an out of date plan that showed a worst-case scenario, and wasn't a prediction of any sort.
Mr Hammond has been leading rebel Tory MPs in attempts to stop a No Deal Brexit.
Boris has pledged to take us out without a deal if the EU doesn't budge on negotiations.
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Miss Khan - who had previously worked at the Taxpayers' Alliance - declined to comment last night and has deleted online accounts.
Downing Street sources confirmed her departure but refused to say why.
One source said: "There are very good reasons this has happened. Reasons that were proved beyond doubt."
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