Steerpike Steerpike

The mystery of Dan Rosenfield’s wardrobe

Leon Neal/Getty Images

It’s polling day today and voters will be giving their verdicts on Boris Johnson’s leadership. It’s the PM’s first test post-Partygate so what better time to reflect on the man in charge when that whole saga blew up? Dan Rosenfield was one of four men to serve as Johnson’s effective chief of staff in No. 10, having taken up the post in January 2021 before leaving a mere 13 months later. The former Treasury mandarin had a fairly torrid time in Downing Street, being the victim of the near-incessant briefing wars that have characterised so much of Johnson’s time in office. 

Shortly before his abrupt departure in February, Rosenfield was accused of presiding over an ‘overbearing’ culture that allegedly contributed to the departures of six women from the No. 10 office towards the end of 2021. The Sunday Times reported Rosenfield made the women ‘buy sandwiches for his lunch, collect his drycleaning and buy presents’ and accused him of exhibiting a ‘culture of entitlement’ over his office. The paper quoted a source who claimed:

He insisted on having a wardrobe put in his office so he had somewhere to hang his suits, because he cycles in. When a wardrobe was found, he didn’t like it, so he insisted something was custom-built overnight. Facilities moved heaven and earth to sort it out; the next morning he was angry because his office smelt of wood stain.

Intrigued, Mr Steerpike asked the Cabinet Office just how much the wardrobe of the lycra-loving apparatchik had cost the taxpayer. A mere four months on, they have today deigned to reply to a freedom of information request, refusing to release any details on the grounds that it would contravene data protection principles. Despite the claim being reported in one of the best-selling Sunday newspapers…

Ever keen to defend its alumni, the Cabinet Office added that it ‘has a duty of care both to its employees and former employees’ and sniffed that ‘the former staff member had no personal involvement in either the procurement or the purchase of any such item.’

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Steerpike
Written by
Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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