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Osborne's 'pitbull' spin doctor caught in Thick Of It-style row over bullying: Glamorous aide behind Chancellor's trendy new image accused of shouting at staff like Malcolm Tucker

By Brendan Carlin, Mail on Sunday Political Reporter

Published: 18:31 EDT, 15 November 2014 | Updated: 19:54 EDT, 15 November 2014 Treasury officials claim Thea Rogers, pictured left next to Chancellor George Osborne, shouts and swears - leaving colleagues in tears after throwing tantrums when she is unhappy with their work

The glamorous aide behind George Osborne’s trendy new image has been accused of bullying in a real-life The Thick Of It-style Whitehall row.

The Chancellor’s adviser, former BBC producer Thea Rogers, has been branded a ‘pitbull’ by Treasury officials, who claim she shouts and swears like TV spin doctor Malcolm Tucker, played by Peter Capaldi.

They say she hurls four-letter insults and has ‘tantrums, rants and hissy fits’ when she is unhappy with their work, leaving colleagues in tears.

Well-placed sources say the Treasury’s Permanent Secretary, Sir Nicholas Macpherson, has spoken to officials ‘bruised’ by Ms Rogers’s behaviour.

Ms Rogers, a former producer to BBC political editor Nick Robinson, has been credited with transforming the Chancellor’s public image since he hired her two years ago.

Mr Osborne’s dramatically reduced waistline, Caesar-style, close-cropped haircut and his high-profile tours of factory floors across the country have all been overseen by the aide.

But a Treasury insider who claims to have witnessed ‘Thea the pitbull’ treating staff badly said last night: ‘She is confrontational and humiliates people who displease her – often in the middle of meetings.

'She has tantrums, rants, hissy fits and screams at people whose work she finds unacceptable. Some people were reduced to tears.’

The Mail on Sunday has been told Ms Rogers was accused of ‘astonishing rudeness’ in the run-up to a major speech by the Chancellor earlier this year in Tilbury, Essex, when Treasury aides struggled to find local bosses to join the audience.




A female civil servant involved in arranging the Chancellor’s visits reportedly ‘reached the end of her tether’ with Ms Rogers.

A Treasury insider said: ‘There is no way Osborne does not know about the way Thea behaves, though she is careful not to do it when he is present.’

The insider denied Ms Rogers’s critics were over-reacting, saying: ‘We know the Treasury is high pressure like No 10 and we’re used to working at full pelt. Treasury officials have likened Thea Rogers to real-life spin doctor Macolm Tucker, played by Peter Capaldi

‘That does not excuse wild and unacceptable behaviour.’

Last night, a source close to Mr Osborne leapt to Ms Rogers’s defence, saying: ‘Thea may not take prisoners but that’s her style.

‘That may mean rubbing some officials up the wrong way but she was hired to get results and she has delivered. George is thrilled with her work. She has singlehandedly transformed his image and he is delighted.’

A Treasury spokesman said: ‘We do not normally comment on personnel matters but there has been no formal complaint or investigation relating to any Treasury special adviser.’


