Adviser to the prime minister of the UK
The
Downing Street Press Secretary
is an adviser to the
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
on news media and how to manage the image of the British government to the press. The position is part of the Prime Minister's Office and involves using information on what is happening in the UK and around the world, to decide on how the Prime Minister should present his or her reaction to the media. The incumbent also advises on how to handle news stories and other information which could affect the current Prime Minister or the Ministry.
The current Press Secretary is Lucy Noakes.
Role
[
edit
]
The Press Secretary will address the lobby correspondents at 10 Downing Street to give journalists information on events attended by the Prime Minister, as well as current affairs in
Downing Street
and in
Parliament
.
[1]
The Press Secretary works within the
Prime Minister's Office
and the Downing Street Press Office.
History
[
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]
Various political advisers have in the past acted in a press secretary role. The first dedicated press officer, appointed in 1931 'to meet the need of a full-time public relations officer in the Prime Minister's Office',
[2]
was George Steward,
[3]
who remained in post until 1944.
Francis Williams
, a journalist who had served in the
Ministry of Information
during the
Second World War
, served under
Clement Attlee
,
[4]
as 'Adviser on Public Relations'.
[5]
Winston Churchill
shunned the role, and did not appoint anyone to the role until several months into his premiership, when he hired Fife Clark.
[5]
In 1997 Alastair Campbell was appointed by then-Prime Minister
Tony Blair
. When
David Cameron
was elected, Gabby Bertin who had previously served as the head of press for the
Conservative Party
became the Downing Street Press Secretary.
[6]
She was later replaced by Susie Squire in 2012.
[7]
In July 2016 when
Theresa May
became Prime Minister,
Lizzie Loudon
was appointed as her Press Secretary. Following the resignation of Loudon in April 2017, Paul Harrison took over the role after the general election on 8 June.
Rob Oxley
was appointed Press Secretary immediately following
Boris Johnson
's appointment as Prime Minister on 24 July 2019;
[8]
he served until March 2020, when he moved to perform a similar role at the
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
.
[9]
On 8 October 2020 it was announced that
Allegra Stratton
would take over from him in an expanded role
[10]
to include fronting new daily televised press briefings. These were originally scheduled for launch in November 2020 but were repeatedly delayed before being scrapped on 20 April 2021, without any taking place.
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
Stratton was replaced by Rosie Bate-Williams, a former media special adviser in Downing Street,
[15]
who in turn was replaced by Alex Wild as part of the
Truss ministry
in September 2022.
[16]
On October 25, 2022, following the replacement of Liz Truss as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party by
Rishi Sunak
, Nerissa Chesterfield was appointed by Sunak as the new Press Secretary.
[17]
List of Press Secretaries
[
edit
]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Lobby correspondents"
.
BBC News Online
. 1 October 2008
. Retrieved
29 September
2015
.
- ^
Jones, G. W. (1976). "The Prime Ministers' Secretaries: Politicians or Administrators?". In Griffith, J. A. G. (ed.).
From Policy to Administration: Essays in honour of William A. Robson
. London: Routledge. p. 18.
- ^
Blick, Andrew; Jones, George.
"The Institution of Prime Minister"
.
GOV.UK
. Retrieved
26 February
2024
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Colin Seymour-Ure
(April 1998).
Memorandum submitted by Colin Seymour-Ure, Professor of Government, University of Kent at Canterbury
(Report).
Public Administration Select Committee
. Archived from
the original
on 30 September 2015
. Retrieved
29 September
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
Seymour-Ure, Colin
(2003).
Prime Ministers and the Media: Issues of Power and Control
.
John Wiley & Sons
.
ISBN
0631187677
.
- ^
Singleton, David (19 May 2013).
"Warning to Cameron as Tory advisers take Downing Street comms jobs"
.
PR Week
. Retrieved
29 September
2015
.
- ^
Owens, John (31 October 2012).
"Prime Minister picks Jean-Christophe Gray and Susie Squire for top comms roles"
.
PR Week
. Retrieved
29 September
2015
.
- ^
Peston, Robert (24 July 2019).
"Vote Leave takes over Boris Johnson's government"
.
ITV News
. Retrieved
27 July
2019
.
- ^
"Robert Oxley LinkedIn"
.
LinkedIn
. Retrieved
10 February
2021
.
- ^
Stone, Jon (8 October 2020).
"Who is Allegra Stratton, Boris Johnson's new spokesperson?"
.
The Independent
. Retrieved
9 October
2020
.
- ^
"Ex-Journalist Stratton to lead No 10 TV briefings"
.
BBC News
. 8 October 2020
. Retrieved
10 October
2020
.
- ^
Walker, Peter (2 January 2021).
"PM's press secretary Allegra Stratton to self-isolate due to Covid rules"
.
The Guardian
.
ISSN
0261-3077
. Retrieved
18 February
2021
.
- ^
"No 10 televised briefings hosted by Allegra Stratton delayed again due to third lockdown"
.
inews.co.uk
. 6 January 2021
. Retrieved
18 February
2021
.
- ^
"Downing Street scraps plans for White House-style press briefings"
.
BBC News
. 20 April 2021
. Retrieved
20 April
2021
.
- ^
Allegretti, Aubrey; Elgot, Jessica (21 April 2021).
"Few tears likely to be shed as plan for No 10 TV press briefings dropped"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
29 April
2021
.
- ^
"Welcome to Trussworld: Meet the new-look team in 10 Downing Street"
.
POLITICO
. 2022-09-08
. Retrieved
2022-09-20
.
- ^
"Who's who in Team Sunak - new PM's core aides"
. 25 October 2022.
- ^
Colin, Seymour-Ure (April 1998).
"DOWNING STREET PRESS OFFICE"
.
UK Parliament
.
Archived
from the original on 2001-02-24
. Retrieved
10 February
2022
.
- ^
Seymour-Ure, Colin (1996). "Prime Minister and the Public".
Churchill to Major: The British Prime Ministership since 1945
.
Routledge
.
ISBN
1563246368
.
- ^
"John Groves"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. 2 January 2008
. Retrieved
29 September
2015
.
- ^
"Sir Trevor Lloyd-Hughes"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. 22 February 2010
. Retrieved
29 September
2015
.
- ^
"Sir Donald Maitland"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. 25 August 2010
. Retrieved
29 September
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Ball, Stuart; Seldon, A., eds. (1996).
The Heath Government 1970-74: A Reappraisal
. London:
Routledge
.
ISBN
0582259916
.
- ^
Hoggart, Simon
(11 November 1999).
"No joke for No 10 when a Hague gag hits the target"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
29 September
2015
.
- ^
Smedley, Tim (28 January 2015).
"Gus O'Donnell: Number 10's ultimate insider"
.
Financial Times
. Retrieved
29 September
2015
.
- ^
Cann, Richard (7 January 2005).
"Profile: Grand schemer - Jonathan Haslam, director of group communications, Jarvis"
.
PR Week
. Retrieved
29 September
2015
.
- ^
Seldon, Anthony
; Lodge, Guy (2011).
Brown at 10
.
Biteback
.
ISBN
978-1849541220
.
External links
[
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]