Seems the scumbag 'nasty party' government have been forced to pay out compensation to one of their own who was 'unfairly' (???) dismissed by Dominic Cummins. Sacked Treasury adviser settles unfair dismissal claim Published 2 hours ago A special advisor who was escorted out of Downing Street by police after a confrontation with Dominic Cummings has settled her unfair dismissal claim. Sonia Khan has agreed an out-of-court settlement with the government after being sacked in August 2019. No reason was given for her dismissal, but it is thought she had been accused by Mr Cummings of leaking details of a no-deal Brexit exercise to the media. Her then-boss, Sajid Javid "voiced his anger" with the PM over her treatment. Mr Javid later resigned as chancellor after rejecting a demand from No 10 that he fire his entire team of aides. In a statement, Ms Khan said she had reached a settlement with the Treasury and was "no longer pursuing my employment tribunal claim", which was due to be heard in December. The figure has not been made public, but the Guardian is reporting "a five-figure payoff by the government". The announcement comes a day after Dominic Cummings confirmed he would be leaving his role in Downing Street by Christmas. No 10 resets staff discipline as adviser is sacked Javid 'voiced anger' to PM over adviser sacking Whitehall HR boss sought amid Number 10 'tensions' Ms Khan was summoned to a meeting in August last year with Mr Cummings after details around Operation Yellowhammer - setting out the potential consequences of a no-deal Brexit - were leaked. At the meeting, she handed over both her personal and work phones, and her phone logs were checked. No reason was given for her dismissal, but it was suggested the issue was whether she could be trusted to be transparent with No 10. After reports Ms Khan's security clearance was instantly removed and she was marched out of the building, the Metropolitan Police issued a statement, confirming a "police officer stationed at the door of No 10 Downing Street escorted a woman from the front door to exit gates as she did not have a security pass at the time". After the incident, the relationship between No 10 and No 11 continued to sour, and Mr Javid left his post four weeks before he was due to present his Budget - handing the task to his Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rishi Sunak. Soon after, Ms Khan launched legal action against the Treasury for unfair dismissal and sex discrimination. Now the two sides have reached a settlement, Ms Khan said she would now be "moving on with my life and career". In a statement, she added: "I have a fulfilling job as a consultant, I maintain great affection for the Conservative Party and remain a committed Conservative. "The party took me under its wing when I was a teen and I feel hugely privileged to have served as a special adviser under the last two prime ministers." The BBC has contacted the Treasury for a response.
Big payout to aide who was sacked and marched out of Downing Street on Dominic Cummings’s orders Legal action launched by Sonia Khan had threatened to drag Boris Johnson’s chief aide to an embarrassing employment tribunal Rob Merrick Deputy Political Editor @Rob_Merrick 14 hours ago The settlement is a sharp reminder of the controversies sparked by Dominic Cummings (EPA) Taxpayers face a big bill over an aide who was sacked and marched out of Downing Street by armed police on Dominic Cummings’s orders, after she reached a settlement. The legal action launched by Sonia Khan, who strongly denied accusations of leaking government information, had threatened to drag Boris Johnson’s chief aide to an embarrassing employment tribunal next month. It was even thought that the prime minister himself, as the ultimate employer of all special advisers, could be asked to testify if it reached a hearing. Now Ms Khan has dropped her case after reaching an agreement on what is believed to be a payout of tens of thousands of pounds, following 14 months of negotiation. The former adviser to Philip Hammond, the ex-chancellor, said in a statement: “Having reached a settlement of these issues, I am now moving on with my life and career.” The deal will come as a relief to No 10, but it is also a sharp reminder of the controversies sparked by Mr Cummings, as he prepares to leave Downing Street at the end of the year. Many Tories hope that the departure of the former Vote Leave chief will mark an end to the macho, confrontational approach that has been a feature of Mr Johnson’s 16 months in power. When Ms Khan was walked out of Downing Street by an armed police officer last August, lawyers immediately pointed to the likelihood of legal action. Mr Cummings claimed she had misled him over her contact with Mr Hammond, her former boss, but she denied any wrongdoing – and Sajid Javid, the then chancellor and Ms Khan’s new boss, was not even consulted. Lawyers pointed out that proper procedures had not been followed, that she was not given the right to be represented and had been humiliated by being bundled out of her workplace. No inquiry took place afterwards and Mr Cummings, in a subsequent meeting with advisers, is said to have warned: “If you don’t like how I run things, there’s the door.” In her statement, Ms Khan added: “I have a fulfilling job as a consultant, I maintain great affection for the Conservative Party and remain a committed Conservative. “The party took me under its wing when I was a teen and I feel hugely privileged to have served as a special adviser to the last two prime ministers.” The employment tribunal was scheduled to take place in central London on 7 December and was expected to last five days. Mr Cummings was named as a respondent in the case, despite efforts by government solicitors who argued his name should be removed and replaced with the Cabinet Office. The case could also have seen the publication of a cache of WhatsApp messages, texts and emails between senior Downing Street advisers that were submitted as part of the tribunal.
