Claim 7a9b9776Checked 22 Jul 2026
TrueOn the truth scale
“Darren Jones was the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister until the day before this tweet was posted.”
Reasoning & Evidence22 Jul 2026
Darren Jones was appointed Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister on 1 September 2025, as confirmed by the official UK government appointments page (GOV.UK). He held this role alongside being Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations.
On 20 July 2026, Andy Burnham became Prime Minister and formed his new cabinet, in which Darren Jones was excluded. The BBC reported on 20 July 2026 that Jones "has been told by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham that he 'won't be a part of his new cabinet.'" The Bristol Post also reported on 20 July 2026 that Jones was "sacked from Cabinet by Andy Burnham." Multiple sources (BBC, The Independent, Bristol Post) confirm that Jones was removed from his cabinet role on 20 July 2026.
The tweet was posted on 21 July 2026, stating "Until yesterday, Darren Jones was... the Chief Secretary to the PM." "Yesterday" would refer to 20 July 2026, which is exactly when Burnham formed his cabinet and Jones was excluded. This is accurate.
One minor nuance: the tweet refers to him as "Chief Secretary to the PM," which is shorthand for "Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister" — the official title. Jones also held the separate role of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster simultaneously, but the claim specifically about the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister title is correct.
Sources:
- GOV.UK, "Appointments: 1 September 2025" — https://www.gov.uk/government/news/appointments-1-september-2025
- GOV.UK, "Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister" — https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/minister-of-state--197
- BBC News, "Bristol MP Darren Jones excluded from Andy Burnham's cabinet" (20 July 2026) — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj03j50n98do
- BBC News, "Who's in Andy Burnham's new Labour cabinet?" (20 July 2026) — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg4we9g58do
- Bristol Post, "Bristol MP Darren Jones sacked from Cabinet by Andy Burnham" (20 July 2026) — https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-mp-darren-jones-sacked-11068913
- The Independent, "Andy Burnham's cabinet – who's in and who's out" — https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/andy-burnham-new-cabinet-appointments-in-full-chancellor-b3018079.html
- AP News, "New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham gathers his Cabinet" — https://apnews.com/article/uk-prime-minister-burnham-cabinet-meeting-economy-18d380d746c0e2df0d2a1f3d35cf4ce0
From tweet
Until yesterday, Darren Jones was in charge of DigitalID and the Chief Secretary to the PM. So if he tells people the DigitalID programme was unfunded, he will know what he’s talking about. It’s only one day into Burnham’s Government and already the explanations are falling apart. You can’t use the funding from an unfunded programme to pay for cheaper bills.
Sources opened
| [1] | gov.uk |
| [2] | gov.uk |
| [3] | darren-jones.co.uk |
| [4] | en.wikipedia.org |
| [5] | bbc.co.uk |
| [6] | gov.uk |
| [7] | gov.uk |
| [8] | bbc.co.uk |
| [9] | apnews.com |
| [10] | bbc.com |
| [11] | independent.co.uk |
| [12] | theguardian.com |
| [13] | bbc.com |
| [14] | bbc.com |
| [15] | bristolpost.co.uk |