Munira Mirza: Who is Boris Johnson’s policy chief and why did she quit?

She was once hailed by the PM as one of the five women who most inspired him, as Ashley Cowburn explains

Boris Johnson pictured in December 2020 with Munira Mirza, director of the No 10 Policy Unit, who resigned on Thursday (PA)

Boris Johnson has suffered a major blow as his policy chief and long-standing adviser, Munira Mirza, quit No 10 in protest at the prime minister’s “scurrilous” Jimmy Savile smear against Sir Keir Starmer.

The backroom operator and key member of Mr Johnson’s inner circle first joined No 10 in July 2019 and was pictured among staff who flanked the prime minister as he gave his first speech to the nation from Downing Street.

The former adviser was once hailed by the prime minister as one of the five women who most inspired him – alongside Boudicca and his grandmother – and helped author the Conservatives’ 2019 election-winning manifesto.

The 44-year-old, who was born in Oldham, is married to Dougie Smith, another former senior adviser in No 10, and previously worked alongside Mr Johnson in his role as mayor of London – as deputy mayor for education and culture.

At university, she joined the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) – contributing to its magazine, Living Marxism, before studying for a PhD in sociology at the University of Kent. She later held various jobs in the culture and charity sectors.

In a 2014 interview with Total Politics magazine, Ms Mirza said: “What I would say is that I have called myself left wing.

“But I often found that my most heated arguments were with left-wing friends, and actually the thing that I’ve said about multiculturalism have probably made me very unpopular with a lot of people on the left.”

Following the Black Lives Matter protests, Ms Mirza was appointed to a major role in setting up the prime minister’s commission on racial disparity.

But critics said she was the wrong person for the role as she had previously questioned the existence of institutional racism and hit out at a “culture of grievance” among anti-racism campaigners. She was defended in the Commons by the prime minister, who described as “a brilliant thinker about these issues”.

In her resignation letter – published by The Spectator on Thursday – Ms Mirza said it was wrong for the prime minister “to imply this week that Keir Starmer was personally responsible for allowing Jimmy Savile to escape justice”.

Making clear her own intervention in the row, the adviser, who worked alongside Mr Johnson for 14 years, added: “You tried to clarify your position today but, despite my urging, you did not apologise for the misleading impression you gave”.

However, she insisted: “You are a man of extraordinary abilities with a unique talent for connecting with people. You are a better man than many of your detractors will ever understand which is why it is desperately sad that you let yourself down by making a scurrilous accusation against the Leader of the Opposition”.

According to Dominic Cummings – the former chief No 10 adviser – Ms Mirza’s resignation represented an “unmistakable signal” that the prime minister was “finished” amid wider calls from some Conservative MPs for Mr Johnson to resign over the No 10 parties row.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “We are very sorry Munira has left No 10 and are grateful for her service and contribution to the government”. They also announced she will be replaced by Arundel and South Downs MP Andrew Griffith, Mr Johnson’s current parliamentary private secretary.