- Johnson sang "I will survive" and offered to take the knee to welcome his new communications chief.
- Guto Harri's appointment is believed to mark a shift away from No. 10's culture wars.
- Further change is on the cards, with a mini-reshuffle expected as the PM looks to regain control.
Boris Johnson sang "I will survive" and offered to take the knee when he welcomed his new director of communications, it has emerged.
Guto Harri, who worked with the prime minister when he was mayor of London, started work at Downing Street on Monday morning, following a swathe of resignations last week that left Johnson looking increasingly vulnerable.
In his first interview since taking the job, the former lobbyist told the Welsh-language site Golwg.360 he saluted Johnson "and said 'Prime Minister, Guto Harri reporting for duty.'"
"And he stood up from behind his desk and started to salute but then said 'What am I doing, I should take the knee for you,'" Harri said of Johnson.
Harri, who is also a former broadcaster, quit as a presenter for GB News last summer after he was suspended during a row about his having taken the knee as "a simple, bold statement that you reject racism" on air.
Harri said he also asked Johnson if he was going to "survive," prompting a rendition of the Gloria Gaynor hit. He also said his new boss was "not a complete clown" and that the two men had eventually "sat down to have a serious discussion about how to get the government back on track and how we move forward."
Harri is one of the first new appointments to fill the roles vacated last week, along with Cabinet Office Minister Steve Barclay, who has taken the role as chief of staff.
The prime minister's official spokesman confirmed that there would be "further changes" announced, with some new appointments expected as early as Monday.
With Barclay's role now significantly beefed up, some of his prior ministerial roles are expected to be shared out among other MPs.
It comes as Johnson looks to reset his relationship with the wider party and restore trust in his leadership after several Conservative backbenchers announced they had submitted letters of no confidence in the prime minister last week.
Harri, who worked for the BBC for 18 years, marks a shift in tone for the administration, which is thought to be moving away from the culture wars that have been waged so far.
Asked if that was the case, one Conservative figure linked with Johnson told Insider: "Focusing on the people's priorities might be another way of framing [it]."
The prime minister's spokesman confirmed that Harri would be involved in shaping policy.
Centrist MPs welcomed Harri's appointment as a sign that Johnson was regaining control after a torrid few weeks, with sources pointing to a comparable chaos-to-control period when he was London mayor.
On Monday morning, another of Johnson's new hires, Andrew Griffith MP, who took on the reins as policy director, wrote in ConservativeHome that his priorities were to "grow employment, tackle the NHS backlog, control our borders, make their streets safer, bring down the cost of living and return rapidly to the point when we can cut taxes to let everyone keep more of their own money."
Griffith, who is one of Johnson's so-called "avengers," is expected to be joined by others in the shadow-whipping team after an anticipated mini-reshuffle, which could come as early as this week.
Others expected to be rewarded for their work in supporting Johnson during his leadership struggle as a result of partygate include Christopher Pincher, the housing minister. Pincher, who has been leading the shadow operation, is expected to be named the new chief whip, as Insider first reported in January.
On Monday morning, the prime minister's official spokesman said Johnson still had confidence in his current chief whip, Mark Spencer, but declined to comment on whether the minister would still be in his job this time next week.
The spokesman also confirmed that Henry Newman has left Number 10 and rejoined Michael Gove's team.
MPs had urged the prime minister to ditch Newman, a close friend of the his wife Carrie Johnson, blaming the advisor for pushing "woke" policies.