Now, in the post-mortem and recriminations that inevitably follow the downfall of any prime minister, fingers are pointing at Harry in a tenure some describe as almost as blunder-prone as his boss’s. He was also one of the last people to urge Johnson to “stay and fight” on Wednesday night as it became clear that dozens of ministers had resigned and Johnson’s government was collapsing before their eyes. “He was nothing if not loyal to Boris, at least while he was on the payroll. He did the best, faithfully, that he could. But there have been tactical miscalculations and he just likes to inform,” said a Tory aide who has seen Harry’s modus operandi. “To be fair to him, he inherited the job when government communications were pretty problematic and it would have been a great job if he had been able to turn the ship around at that point.” Reporters found Harry, who was also Johnson’s communications adviser during his mayoralty in London, more polite and charming than some government pruners – and happy to pick up the phone. Many have also appreciated the colorful quotes he has provided for their stories, some of which may have been inappropriate from a PR perspective. “He’s a very charming guy and I have a good spot for him, but I’m never quite sure how seriously he takes the job,” said a senior reporter who has known Harry for decades. Harry’s friends say he would like to be judged mainly by political journalists and that they respect him. However, those who know him from No 10 and as a special adviser roll their eyes when asked about his work for Johnson, describing him as too relaxed and laid back when it comes to communications work. Harry was confronted by a government aide with another figure – Deputy Chief of Staff David Canzini – brought in as part of efforts to ‘reset’ operations at No 10. The aide claimed Harry was ‘a total clown’, while Canzini was very effective and compared the two men to the cartoon characters Pinky and the Brain. At a Spectator party on Thursday night, with tensions running high over Johnson’s resignation, Harry confronted Josh Grimstone, Michael Gove’s special adviser, over the circumstances of Johnson’s “revenge” of sacking the secretary which leveled up. A former PR for Rupert Murdoch’s News UK, Harri had moments of effectiveness in Downing Street. Privately, he has taken credit for killing the Times story that Johnson tried to appoint Kerry’s then-girlfriend to a £100,000 job at the Foreign Office after she quit the paper for its second edition. While some senior Tory MPs credit Harry with ridding the No 10 of toxicity since the Dominic Cummings era – and his supporters say he successfully steered Johnson towards greater visibility and mass-appeal shows – others blame him for contributing to the sensation of the chaos surrounding Johnson’s communications. A flashpoint for this was the Chris Pincher case when Harri informed the No 10 press team that the former deputy chief whip was vulnerable amid allegations of drunken groping, and drew a comparison with the suicide of Iraq war weapons expert David Kelly. This comment went down so badly that it was subsequently leaked. There was also anger among Tory MPs over the handling of Johnson’s impromptu trip to Ukraine last month, which meant he failed to attend the Northern Research Group conference in Doncaster. While the media had been told by Harry early in the morning that Johnson would miss the event as he was in Ukraine, Tory MPs were told by midday to expect the Prime Minister to attend. “If you were going to pin the Doncaster car crash on someone who created an unnecessary procedural story that overshadowed and angered colleagues, it’s all Guto,” a source said. The source added: “Guto clearly thinks he is a passenger and is just along for the ride. He has a nice CV, history with the Prime Minister and seems to tick all the boxes. But in terms of political management, he has no idea.” Harri’s past business dealings have also come under scrutiny since he came in at No 10. He was nicknamed ‘Huawei Harri’ because he joined from Hawthorn Advisers, a PR firm that lobbied for the Chinese tech company. Several other Hawthorn staff members later joined the press office. Harry is said to have alienated already frustrated special advisers at a meeting last month, where he told them to be as good at getting the government’s message as they were at informing the press about the content of the meeting. “It was probably meant to sound off-the-cuff and be a little realpolitik, but it ended up calling the room full of people ambiguous shit,” said one attendee. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST However, one of the clearest examples of Harry’s MO came during Johnson’s trip to the G7 and NATO summits, when he raised a storm over defense spending. After Johnson’s civil service spokesman briefed reporters at a hotel in the Austrian Tyrol across the border from the G7 meeting in Bavaria, Harry sat in silence before breaking into a discussion about whether Johnson would be able to keep the pledge. of increasing the defense budget above inflation. promised in the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto. There was a need for a “reality check” on the promises made before the Covid pandemic and inflation nearing 10%, Harry said. As reporters jotted down quotes on their pads, Johnson’s official spokesman looked up at the ceiling, grimly aware that a damaging story had been created. The row lasted the rest of the trip, requiring Johnson to use his final NATO press conference to promise an increase in the defense budget to 2.5% of GDP. Harry has been approached for comment.
