Reports: Louth and Horncastle MP ‘may have damaged career’ after alleged remarks about PM’s fiancée

In the last few days, the Daily Mail has reported claims from ‘multiple sources’ that Ms Atkins, a Home Officer minister, was recently overheard saying that Ms Symonds could not be trusted as she “stole another woman’s husband”.

The Evening Standard reported similar claims just a few days earlier, suggesting that Ms Atkins had made a “disparaging remark” about the Prime Minister’s fiancée, but did not elaborate on the nature of the remark.

Both reports suggested that a ‘black mark’ is now against Ms Atkins’s name, after a promising start to her political career which saw her promoted to a ministerial position in November 2017, just two years after being elected to Parliament.

It has been widely reported in the national press that Mr Johnson began his relationship with Ms Symonds in 2018 while still married to his wife of 25 years, Marina Wheeler, who he has since divorced.

Earlier this week, this newspaper approached Ms Atkins’ office to request a comment regarding her alleged remarks, but no response had been received at the time of publication on Wednesday afternoon.