Boris Johnson’s government will take “a step back from people’s lives” as it seeks to “restore a smaller state” in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister’s new chief of staff has said.

Pledging to “make the centre of government work like the best-run companies”, Steve Barclay said a priority of Mr Johnson’s reset will be to reduce the size of the state, following record levels of government spending and interventions.

Writing in The Telegraph in his first intervention since being drafted into Number 10, Mr Barclay declared: “It’s time to return to a more enabling approach. To trust the people, return power to communities and free up business to deliver.”

The pledges publicly set out reassurances made privately to backbenchers and ministers to help quell pushes to oust the Prime Minister over the “partygate” scandal.

Tory MPs have used meetings with Mr Johnson and his closest allies to demand a return to core Conservative values as part of a “reset” of No 10, raising concerns with green policies, anti-obesity measures and Covid restrictions.

Prime Minister’s mini tour of the country

The intervention came after Downing Street confirmed that Mr Johnson had received a questionnaire from the Metropolitan Police as part of its inquiry into alleged lockdown-busting Downing Street gatherings. 

This week, Mr Johnson will embark on a mini tour of the country, starting in Scotland. The Prime Minister said: “I’m getting out of London this week and taking a simple message with me – this government is getting on with the job of uniting and levelling up the country.”

Addressing MPs and the public, Mr Barclay said he understood “how frustrating the recent weeks of speculation about the workings of government have been – for the people of this country, and for political colleagues”. 

But he added: “The Prime Minister has apologised for the things we simply did not get right, and for the way that some matters have been handled … He is the best person to deliver the mission of renewal and recovery.

“This is a Prime Minister who won an 80-seat majority, delivered Brexit and then steered the country through the pandemic … Now he’s making the changes in government that will see us adjust to living with Covid, clear the backlogs, get the economy back up to full speed – and, crucially, he is taking a close look at where he can cut the size of the state.”