DOWNING Street was last night unable to confirm reports that the Tories' chief adviser in Northern Ireland had been axed.
Lord Jonathan Caine has been an adviser to no fewer than seven Tory secretaries of state but according to the New Statesman the peer has not been retained by Julian Smith.
Mr Smith was appointed successor to Karen Bradley following Boris Johnson's victory in the Tory leadership contest a fortnight ago. He is former chief whip who ahead of the 2016 referendum, campaigned to remain in the EU.
Leeds-born Lord Caine, who was elevated to the House of Lords in 2016, is also regarded as a Remainer and is understood to have become increasingly frustrated in his role since the Brexit vote.
Reports of his departure emerged at the end of a week which saw a row over claims that portraits of Queen Elizabeth had been removed from Stormont House, headquarters of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO).
However, neither Downing Street or the NIO have confirmed the the 53-year-old peer's removal, with one spokesman saying there had been no official announcement.
Elsewhere, a source indicated that Downing Street had been briefing yesterday that Lord Caine remained in post.
First appointed as an adviser at the NIO in 1991, he served under Tom King, Peter Brooke and Patrick Mayhew, and is a personal friend of former Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble.
Downing Street failed to respond to requests for comment last night.
