The Downing Street director of communications is the post of

director of communications Director of communications is a position in both the private and public sectors. A director of communications is responsible for managing and directing an organization's internal and external communications. Directors of communications supervis ...

for the

prime minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

. The position is held by an appointed special adviser. In September 2022, as part of the incoming

Truss ministry Liz Truss was invited by Queen Elizabeth II—two days before the monarch's death—to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister of the United Kingdom on 6 September 2022. Johnson resigned as leader of the Conservative Party the previous day a ...

, the role was sub-divided into a political and non-political remit, with Adam Jones becoming the political director of communications and Simon McGee the director of government communications. The role sub-division was abolished during the

Sunak ministry Rishi Sunak was invited by King Charles III to replace Liz Truss as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 25 October 2022, following Truss's resignation and the subsequent Conservative leadership election. The Sunak ministry was formed fro ...

History

The position of Downing Street Director of Communications was created in 2000. The first holder of the position was

Alastair Campbell Alastair John Campbell (born 25 May 1957) is a British journalist, author, strategist, broadcaster and activist known for his roles during Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour Party. Campbell worked as Blair's spokesman and campaign director ...

who had previously served as the

Downing Street press secretary 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 ...

and as the

prime minister's official spokesperson The prime minister's official spokesperson or alternatively prime minister's official spokesman/spokeswoman is a position in the United Kingdom's Civil Service, located in the Prime Minister's Office in 10 Downing Street and used by the Briti ...

. The position initially held the power to issue orders to civil servants, but this authority was removed after Campbell's departure in 2003. The post was temporarily vacant from April to July 2017 following the resignation of the former director of communications, Katie Perrior.

List of Directors of Communications

In popular culture

In television series ''

The Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a smal ...

'', the Downing Street director of communications was portrayed by actor

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...

playing the now infamous

Malcolm Tucker Malcolm Tucker is the fictional antihero of the BBC political satire ''The Thick of It'', portrayed by Peter Capaldi. He is the Director of Communications for his party in both Government and Opposition, acting as the Prime Minister's chief e ...

. 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

. But Mandelson is there, too."

References

British Prime Minister's Office {{UK-gov-stub

History

List of Directors of Communications

In popular culture

See also

References