A resigned Number 10 adviser's past comments were "racist" and "completely reprehensible", a government minister has told Sky News.

Andrew Sabisky, known as a "superforecaster", quit his Downing Street role on Monday following widespread condemnation of his past online posts.

Among comments on subjects such as eugenics, mind-enhancing drugs for children, FGM and women's sport, the 27-year-old was also revealed to have claimed MPs should pay attention to the "debate" around "very real racial differences in intelligence".

Cummings refuses to comment on Sabisky

Downing Street has yet to answer questions on who hired Mr Sabisky, what vetting processes were conducted before his employment, or what he was working on while at Number 10.

It has been reported he was employed on a short-term contract.


Business minister Kwasi Kwarteng predicted a toughening of the government's vetting processes following the controversy over Mr Sabisky.

Image: Business minister Kwasi Kwarteng predicted a toughening of the government's vetting processes following the controversy over Mr Sabisky

"It was completely reprehensible, they were racist remarks," he told Sky News' Kay Burley @ Breakfast show.

"As soon as that came to light he left the government pretty quickly and we've drawn a line underneath that.

"I don't know how he was recruited, I don't know who he is.

"I read in the paper that he's 27 years old, he's clearly got lots of views and written profusely on them.

"Now I'm pleased to say that he's left the government."

"His remarks were offensive and racist."



Business minister @KwasiKwarteng says he is pleased Number 10 adviser Andrew Sabisky has left the government after a string of his controversial remarks were uncovered, calling them "reprehensible".#KayBurley https://t.co/Rw9R12m51E pic.twitter.com/uP7CRP3Mx1 — Sky News (@SkyNews) February 18, 2020

Asked why Downing Street had not sacked Mr Sabisky before his resignation, Mr Kwarteng replied: "I think he would have been sacked, I'm pretty sure there was a lot of pressure for him to leave and he jumped before he was pushed.

"That's my reading of it, but I don't know the actual details."

He also described how people "slip through the net" in "any walk of life" if they are employed in an "unorthodox way".

"I think the vetting will be much more severe," Mr Kwarteng added.

"In any walk of life - I remember working in banks before I entered politics - you get people who slip through the net, who are recruited in perhaps an unorthodox way.

"They sometimes have reprehensible views, this happens across our community, across our economy.

"I think the main thing is to try and ensure this doesn't happen again."

Image: It is unknown what Mr Sabisky was working on in Number 10

Mr Sabisky was hired following a call by Dominic Cummings - Prime Minister Boris Johnson's chief adviser - for "misfits and weirdos" to apply for jobs in Downing Street.

He announced he was quitting his role as a contractor in order to avoid the "media hysteria" being a "distraction".

He also claimed to be "in the middle of a giant character assassination".

Asked about Mr Sabisky's role in Number 10, Mr Cummings appeared to defend his employment and advised people to read the work of a US academic.

He told reporters on Tuesday morning: "Read Philip Tetlock's superforecasters instead of political pundits who don't know what they're talking about."

Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, a former government minister and now chair-elect of the House of Commons' womens and equalities committee, claimed it was "mission accomplished" for Mr Cummings' recruitment drive.

"They found a weirdo and misfit didn't they?," she told Sky News.

Ms Nokes added: "We should have a process where people who are appointed to very important and influential roles in Downing Street should go through a proper vetting process.

"Sadly that doesn't seem to have happened in this case.

"Of course there are questions about what specific projects this man was working on. Where they in the realms of defence as has been suggested?

"In which case, there really are some very worrying questions about the vetting process he should have gone through."

Ms Nokes said she was "disappointed" that Downing Street didn't distance themselves from Mr Sabisky's views earlier.

"To be frank, this chap should have gone earlier," she added.

Responding to Mr Sabisky's resignation, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage asked: "Who are the 'fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists' now?"