According to Downing Street, Liz Truss does not believe Michael Gove is a sadist.
Gove contributed to the prime minister’s humiliating U-turn on tax by publicly calling her plan to eliminate the 45p rate a “mistake.”
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His intervention at the start of the Conservative Party’s conference in Birmingham dashed any remaining hope that the event would go smoothly.
According to the Mail on Sunday, Truss met with Gove before the conference and discussed the possibility of appointing him as an ambassador, only for him to publicly criticize her financial plans.
A No.10 aide told the paper: “It was the right thing to do, to invite him in. Michael asked for Liz’s advice and she told him to enjoy himself. Michael clearly gets his kicks in a sadistic way.”
On Monday, when asked if Truss thought Gove was a “sadist,” the prime minister’s spokesperson said, “No.”
Gove has endorsed Rishi Sunak in his bid to succeed Boris Johnson as Tory leader and prime minister.
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The former cabinet minister announced his retirement from frontline politics after leaving Johnson’s government as Tory MPs moved to depose the then-prime minister.
Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget shook the Tory party after it spooked the markets and propelled Labour to a comfortable lead in the polls.
