Lee

Can we help you with some background on Lee Cain, the nearly-but-not-quite-No 10-Chief of Staff, whose principal tool as Director of Communication has been the ban - cf C4 News, The Today Programme and Good Morning Britain ? 

Lee, 39, went to Ormskirk Grammar School; his parents still live in L40. From there it was a BA in Journalism at Staffordshire University, which included some work experience on the Leek Post & Times. From 2006 to 2008 he was with the Gloucester Citizen, starting as Abbeymead and Abbeydale patch reporter. Left, Lee watching rugby union at Gloucester in 2007.

From there he joined South West News Service, and did shifts at the Mirror, Sun and Mail on Sunday. A full-time gig at the Mirror saw him chase 2010 election candidates dressed as a chicken. There followed a short spell on the production team of ITV's This Morning, bolstering the hard-nosed journalism favoured by Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. Thence it was to tech pr specialists Clarity, and spinning for lawyers Slater Gordon. 

In 2016, hedging his bets like his later employer Boris Johnson, he applied to join the press teams for both "Remain" and "Vote Leave". Vote Leave picked him, and, after the referendum, he became a special adviser at DEFRA, under first Andrea Leadsom, then Michael Gove. 

Lee's partner is Nikki Barr, a former Express digital journalist, now with Shell. Here she is explaining social media, when at Yahoo! in 2015.