This autumn, Sir Craig Oliver will publish his book Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of the EU Referendum. The tome promises to lift the lid on No.10’s failed efforts to keep the United Kingdom in the EU, with details of private conversations with everyone from Jeremy Corbyn to Barack Obama.
However while the book is unlikely to make for an uplifting read — given Oliver described the end result as ‘walking across a path that appeared to be safety and then walking into quicksand’ — Mr S has reason to believe that the campaign wasn’t all pain and suffering for Cameron’s former director of communications. As well as being awarded a knighthood in the Prime Minister’s resignation honours, Oliver is said to have found a like-minded confidante in the Remain camp.
Steerpike understands that Oliver — who separated from his wife Joanna Gosling, the BBC newsreader, in 2014 — has struck up a very close friendship with fellow Remain-er Lucy Thomas. The word in Westminster is that Oliver’s relationship with Thomas, who served as the deputy director of Britain Stronger in Europe, remains strong to this day.
Given that the EU referendum result broke many hearts — with down-hearted Europhiles taking to the streets in blue and yellow to mourn their membership — Mr S is pleased to hear that it also brought some people closer together.
Update: Happily nearly two months on from Mr S’s story, the news has now spread far and wide. The Sun has published pictures of the happy couple.
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