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.
 Downing Street Press Secretary | |
|---|---|
 Royal Arms as used by His Majesty's Government | |
Incumbent since July 2024Sophie Nazemi | |
| Prime Minister's Office | |
| Appointer | Prime Minister |
| Formation | 1945 |
| First holder | Frank Williams |
| Website | 10 Downing Street |
The current Press Secretary is Sophie Nazemi. [1]
Role
editThe 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.[2] The Press Secretary works within the Prime Minister's Office and the Downing Street Press Office.
History
editVarious 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',[3] was George Steward,[4] 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,[5] as 'Adviser on Public Relations'.[6] Winston Churchill shunned the role, and did not appoint anyone to the role until several months into his premiership, when he hired Fife Clark.[6] 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.[7] She was later replaced by Susie Squire in 2012.[8] 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;[9] he served until March 2020, when he moved to perform a similar role at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.[10] On 8 October 2020 it was announced that Allegra Stratton would take over from him in an expanded role[11] 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.[12][13][14][15]
Stratton was replaced by Rosie Bate-Williams, a former media special adviser in Downing Street,[16] who in turn was replaced by Alex Wild as part of the Truss ministry in September 2022.[17] 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.[18]
List of press secretaries
edit| Press Secretary[19] | Years | Prime Minister | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Williams | 1945–1947 | Clement Attlee[5] | |
| Philip Jordan | 1947–1951 | ||
| Reginald Bacon | 1951 | ||
| Fife Clark | 1952–1955 | Winston Churchill[5] | |
| William D. Clark | 1955–1956 | Anthony Eden[5] | |
| Alfred Richardson | 1956–1957 | ||
| Harold Evans | 1957–1963 | Harold Macmillan[20] | |
| John Groves | 1963–1964 | Alec Douglas-Home[21] | |
| Trevor Lloyd-Hughes | 1964–1969 | Harold Wilson[22] | |
| Joe Haines | 1969–1970 | ||
| Donald Maitland[23] | 1970–1973 | Edward Heath | |
| Robin Haydon[24] | 1973–1974 | ||
| Joe Haines | 1974–1976 | Harold Wilson | |
| Tom McCaffrey | 1976–1979 | James Callaghan[25] | |
| Henry James[24] | 1979 | Margaret Thatcher | |
| Bernard Ingham | 1979–1990 | ||
| Gus O'Donnell[26] | 1990–1993 | John Major | |
| Christopher Meyer[5] | 1993–1996 | ||
| Jonathan Haslam[27] | 1996–1997 | ||
| Alastair Campbell | 1997–2001 | Tony Blair[6] | |
| Godric Smith | 2001–2004 | ||
| Tom Kelly | 2004–2007 | ||
| Damian McBride | 2007–2009 | Gordon Brown[28] | |
| Gabby Bertin | 2010–2012 | David Cameron | |
| Susie Squire | 2012–2013 | ||
| Graeme Wilson | 2013–2016 | ||
| Lizzie Loudon | 2016–2017 | Theresa May | |
| Paul Harrison | 2017–2019 | ||
| Rob Oxley | 2019–2020 | Boris Johnson | |
| Allegra Stratton | 2020–2021 | ||
| Rosie Bate-Williams | 2021–2022 | ||
| Alex Wild (interim) | 2022 | Liz Truss | |
| Nerissa Chesterfield | 2022–2023 | Rishi Sunak | |
| Lucy Noakes | 2023–2024 | ||
| Sophie Nazemi | 2024 - present | Keir Starmer | |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Who are the key people inside Labour's leadership team?". The Guardian. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ "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.