Downing Street Director of Communications

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Downing Street
Director of Communications
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
Royal Arms as used by Her Majesty's Government
Incumbent
Guto Harri
since 5 February 2022
Prime Minister's Office
AppointerPrime Minister
Formation2000
First holderAlastair Campbell
Website10 Downing Street

The Downing Street Director of Communications is the post of Director of Communications for the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The position is held by an appointed special adviser.[1]

History[]

The position of Downing Street Director of Communications was created in 2000. The first holder of the position was Alastair Campbell who had previously served as Downing Street Press Secretary and Prime Minister's Spokesman. The position had the power to issue orders to civil servants but was removed after Campbell's departure in 2003.[2]

The post was temporarily vacant from April to July 2017 following the resignation of the former Director of Communications, Katie Perrior.[3][4][5]

List of Directors of Communications[]

# Communications Director Years Prime Minister
1 Alastair Campbell 2000–2003 Tony Blair
2 David Hill 2003–2007
3 Michael Ellam 2007–2009 Gordon Brown
4 Simon Lewis 2009–2010
5 Andy Coulson 2010–2011 David Cameron
6 Craig Oliver 2011–2016
7 Katie Perrior 2016–2017 Theresa May
8 Robbie Gibb 2017–2019
9 Lee Cain 2019–2020 Boris Johnson
10 James Slack 2021
11 Jack Doyle 2021–2022
12 Guto Harri 2022–present

In popular culture[]

In television series The Thick of It, the Downing Street Director of Communications was portrayed by actor Peter Capaldi playing the now infamous Malcolm Tucker.[6] Former special advisors (spads) and civil servants were called upon to make the series as close-to-reality as possible. In 2009, Capaldi stated "Malcolm Tucker is Alastair Campbell. But Mandelson is there, too."[7]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  2. ^ Jones, George (17 June 2002). "Curb Campbell's powers over civil servants, says watchdog". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  3. ^ Mason, Rowena; Asthana, Anushka (10 June 2017). "Theresa May's 'rude, abusive and childish' advisers face calls to quit". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  4. ^ Walker, Peter; Mason, Rowena (6 July 2017). "Theresa May hires BBC's Robbie Gibb as communications chief". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  5. ^ "Lee Cain: Top Boris Johnson aide quits amid infighting at No 10". BBC News. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  6. ^ Sweney, Mark (12 July 2012). "The Thick of It to return with Leveson-style inquiry". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  7. ^ Dee, Johnny (16 October 2009). "Peter Capaldi: Malcolm Tucker is Alastair Campbell. But Mandelson is in there, too". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 May 2019.


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