Samantha Cameron says it 'demeans' Boris Johnson to suggest his fiancée Carrie Symonds has MORE influence than his own advisers - as she blasts 'sexist' 'Princess Nut Nut' nickname 

• Samantha Cameron agreed that criticism levied at Carrie Symonds was 'sexist' 
• Businesswoman also said it was 'frustrating' to deal with Brexit 'teething issues' 
• Miss Symonds reportedly nicknamed 'Princess Nut Nut' by opponents in No 10
• Accused of being involved in a power struggle with Dominic Cummings
• Mrs Cameron said criticism of Symonds was 'harsh' and 'demeaning' for the PM

Samantha Cameron has said it is 'demeaning' for Boris Johnson to suggest his fiancée Carrie Symonds has more influence than his own advisors. 

The 49-year-old wife of former-Prime Minister David Cameron blasted the 'flagrantly sexist' 'Princess Nut Nut' nickname, adding that criticism the PM's fiancée received last year was 'harsh'. 

Mrs Cameron said the criticism she received was wrong, and claimed Prime Ministers are 'quite able to take decisions themselves'.

She said believing Mr Johnson's partner has more influence than his advisors is 'demeaning' for the PM.

Miss Symonds was reportedly nicknamed 'Princess Nut Nut' by opponents in No 10 during an extraordinary power struggle with Dominic Cummings - which resulted in the latter leaving Downing Street in November.  

She told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour: 'In my view your husband or partner is the Prime Minister, they're quite able to take decisions themselves.

'The idea that it’s the wife, you're somehow, you know, influencing them over and above what they think or what advice they're getting from their team, I think it’s kind of demeaning, really, for the Prime Minister. 

'And I don't think any partner of the Prime Minister would ever feel that that's the sort of position that they're allowed to be in and I think you're just trying to do your best, thrust into a position that he may not have been expecting.

'In my case when I married my husband, it wasn't a role I was expecting to be in and, and you're not trained for it.' 

The businesswoman, who owns clothing brand Cefinn, also said it was 'frustrating' to deal with Brexit 'teething issues' as companies adopt new trading regulations.  

Miss Symonds - herself a former Government special adviser and Conservative Party head of media - was reportedly labelled a 'princess' for what her foes claimed was regal behaviour while the 'nut' is believed to be a poor-taste joke about her being 'crazy'.  

Mrs Cameron said the criticism was 'very harsh'.

She urged Miss Symonds to 'find your own way' and 'do the things that you enjoy, do the things that you feel that you're good at – and be supportive as you can to Boris'.

Addressing Brexit and the impact its having on her business, Mrs Cameron said: 'Until they sort out some of the, I hope, teething issues, definitely trading with the EU – if you're bringing if you're bringing goods into the country from outside the UK, and then trying to sell them back into Europe – that currently is challenging and difficult.'

David Cameron called the Brexit referendum - before campaigning against Boris Johnson's vote leave camp.

Mr Cameron quit as PM after the remain campaign lost, forcing him and his family to leave Downing Street after six years. 

Mrs Cameron urged Mr Johnson to 'talk to all the businesses out there who are in a similar position to me, of which there are lots and it is the smaller businesses because we can't afford to have warehouses in Europe and that sort of thing'.

She said her business may struggle to grow due to Brexit deals, and said: 'If we can grow our business… it is frustrating, the majority of our business is in the UK and we do a bit of business in America, but we did have a bit of EU business.

'And obviously you'd like to grow it because it's easy, it's on your doorstep. But unless some of the expense and cost of doing that is looked at it will be challenging.'

In 2018, Mrs Cameron's Cefinn raised £2.5million to expand with a major helping hand from a prominent Conservative donor.

David Brownlow, one of the Tory party’s biggest financial backers, was appointed a director of Mrs Cameron's Cefinn, which lost £560,000 in its first year.

The label - founded in 2016 - was being bankrolled by Mr Brownlow's business Havisham Investments.

The money was earmarked to help the business grow internationally and improve logistics.

Mr Brownlow told The Times: 'I am joining the company in part because I like the management team. I thought they were very energetic and enthusiastic. I like the creative direction of the business. I am joining because it’s a business I like and I want to help it grow'.

But he denied his financial support was anything to do with the Tories or his links to the Camerons and said: 'No, I am a businessman'.

Other new backers included Wendy Yu, of Hong-Kong based Yu Holdings and Philip Bassett, founder of investment firm Brightwell Partners while its original investor Venrex has also found more money to put in.

Mrs Cameron has been open on social media since she and her family left No. 10 in 2016.

Last year, she  revealed how she and Mr Cameron went through a rough patch while in Downing Street. 

The couple now live with their three children Nancy, 16, Arthur, 14, and Florence, 10, in their £1.5 million home near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.

Speaking on Giovanna Fletcher's Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast she revealed: 'There was a couple of years ago when [David] was travelling a lot about a year after he left Downing Street and I was working really hard on my business and it was one of the few times in our marriage when I just thought "I'm just not sure we are getting on very well, this is really weird".'

In a rare interview she revealed the couple 'never' go out at night anymore because she feels she has to be at home 'all the time' to look after her teenage children.

'I'm not very good at ever spending time away from the children with [David] on my own,' she added.

Last year, she also admitted she 'didn't expect' her husband would be 'overly involved' with their newborn daughter Florence when he was Prime Minister. 

She gave birth to daughter Florence shortly before Mr Cameron first took office in 2010. 

Appearing on ITV's Lorraine, she revealed the former PM had always been a 'brilliant dad' and would 'always' give his children Florence, Nancy and Arthur, now 14, an evening bath when they were 'tiny'. 

She said: 'I think I was on my fourth by then, so I think it seemed fairly seamless. I have to say, I wasn't expecting him [David] to get overly involved.

'He's always been a brilliant Dad, so I think one of the things we always did with the children when they were really tiny is he would have a bath with them and that was quite bonding.

'It was also much easier than for me to bath in one of those tiny plastic things where you're always terrified you're going to drop them and they're going to slip out of your hands, so he always did that when he could and we sort of muddled through somehow.'