British communications worker
Lee Edward Cain (born 1981)[ 1] is a British public relations professional and former journalist who served as Downing Street Director of Communications under Boris Johnson from July 2019 until the end of 2020.[ 2]
Education
Cain attended Ormskirk Grammar School and graduated from Staffordshire University .[ 3]
Career
Cain began his career as a journalist at the Gloucester Citizen and The Sun before moving to the Daily Mirror . While working for the Mirror in the run-up to the 2010 general election ,[ 4] Cain was used to taunt David Cameron and other Conservative MPs dressed as a chicken.[ 5] [ 6]
After leaving his position as a senior media advisor for Slater and Gordon Lawyers , Cain moved into politics to become head of broadcast for the Vote Leave campaign.[ 7] In addition to serving at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under Andrea Leadsom and Michael Gove , he briefly worked for Theresa May before leaving to work with Johnson while he was serving as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs .[ 8]
Cain served as the Downing Street Director of Communications from 2019 to 2020. In an article about the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic , when Johnson was hospitalised, it was commented that "Lee was running the country, genuinely, for quite some time."[ 9] In November 2020, Cain resigned from his position, and stated that he would leave office at the end of the year.[ 10] [ 11] Cain had previously been mentioned as a possible selection for Downing Street Chief of Staff .[ 12]
In 2021, Cain started his own PR communications agency, Charlesbye.[ 13] In 2021, The Guardian reported the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) warned that Cain could be seen to offering "unfair" access to clients given his former role.[ 14]
In popular culture
In the 2023 Channel 4 docudrama Partygate , Cain was played by Craig Parkinson .[ 15]
References
^ Lee Edward Cain, "Charlesbye Limited", Companies House . Retrieved 15 December 2021
^ Phillips, Jenni (24 July 2019). "Former Citizen reporter becomes new PM's Communications chief" . Gloucestershire Live . Retrieved 27 July 2019 .
^ "Lee Cain is tipped as No 10's next chief of staff, but who is he?" . The Guardian . 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020 .
^ Forrest, Adam (12 November 2020). "Who is Lee Cain? A closer look at spin doctor who caused No 10 uproar" . The Independent . Retrieved 12 November 2020 .
^ Rawlinson, Kevin (30 July 2019). "Boris Johnson's spin doctor 'used to dress up as Tory-ridiculing Mirror Chicken' " . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 1 August 2019 .
^ McTague, Tom (30 July 2019). "I, Too, Have Dressed Up as a Chicken to Harass British Politicians" . The Atlantic . Retrieved 1 August 2019 .
^ "The people trying to make Boris Johnson prime minister" . The Independent . 11 June 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019 .
^ "Who are Boris Johnson's key advisers?" . BBC News . 25 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019 .
^ Cain, Lee (12 March 2021). " 'No 10 was a plague pit': how Covid brought Westminster to its knees" . The Guardian . Retrieved 13 March 2021 .
^ Morrison, Sean (11 November 2020). "PM's director of communications Lee Cain resigns after power struggle" . Evening Standard . Retrieved 11 November 2020 .
^ "Lee Cain: Prime minister's director of communications resigns after power struggle" . Sky News . Retrieved 11 November 2020 .
^ Elgot, Jessica (11 November 2020). "Vote Leave's Lee Cain tipped as next Downing Street chief of staff" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 11 November 2020 .
^ Harrington, John (11 October 2021). "Ex-Downing Street comms chief Lee Cain's first clients revealed" . PR Week . Retrieved 11 December 2021 .
^ Davies, Rob; Mason, Rowena (11 November 2021). "Boris Johnson's ex-aide was warned by regulator over access as a consultant" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 2 May 2023 .
^ "Meet the cast of Partygate on Channel 4" . Radio Times . 3 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023 .