'He wants Rishi out' The shadowy Tory fixer 'plotting to oust PM'

Advisers advise, ministers decide," goes the aphorism from Margaret Thatcher. But if Nadine Dorries is A right, one Conservative adviser has the power to elevate and overthrow prime ministers and has been exercising it for two decades.

- Eleni Courea

Some might accuse Dorries of hyperbole, but to many in the party, "fixer" Dougie Smith is a most mysterious character.

He has been employed in an undefined role under successive Tory prime ministers including David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson. Former colleagues describe feeling unsure what his job was and to whom he was answerable. Used to operating in the shadows, Smith finds himself in the spotlight after reports he has been advising a group plotting to replace Rishi Sunak before the next election. "He definitely wants Rishi out," said one Tory insider.

Part of the mystery around Smith stems from how little information about him is publicly available.