MPs question why Boris picked ‘Super Throuper’

TORY MPs have vented their frustration at Boris Johnson’s decision to replace high-profile former Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi with little-known MP Maggie Throup.

They said it was ‘a mystery’ as to why the Prime Minister had picked the former Whip for the key role.

One senior Tory MP said: ‘This is causing major concerns.

‘Let’s face it – Nadhim had a touch of showbusiness about him. You just can’t say that about Maggie.’

However, other MPs privately blame Chief Whip Mark Spencer for promoting Ms Throup from the Tory Whips Office.

A former Minister told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I don’t think Boris would have had a clue who she was. The idea of promoting her must have come from the Chief Whip.’

Other MPs have sprung to Ms Throup’s defence, saying she was widely liked and had a reputation for ‘getting on with the job’. That diligence led one colleague to dub her ‘Super Throuper’.

Her science background is also expected to help her in the new job – Ms Throup, 64, read biology at university, before working as a biomedical scientist at Calderdale Health Authority and then at a pharmaceutical company.

An ally of Ms Throup said she had been a ‘grandma figure’ in the Whips’ Office, and was deployed to comfort unhappy MPs – skills which will be useful if complaints about the slow booster rollout continue to come in.

However, colleagues admitted that the Erewash MP had kept a low profile since entering the Commons in 2015.