James Slack is a British political advisor and journalist who served as

Downing Street Director of Communications 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. In September 2022, as part of the incoming Truss minis ...

for Prime Minister

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

between January and March 2021.

Career

Previously home affairs editor of the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'', he was appointed political editor of the newspaper in October 2015 in succession to James Chapman, who had been appointed as spokesman for

George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born Gideon Oliver Osborne; 23 May 1971) is a former British politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the ...

, then Chancellor of the Exchequer. At the ''Daily Mail'', as home affairs editor, Slack was involved in the campaign to stop

Gary McKinnon Gary McKinnon (born 10 February 1966) is a Scottish systems administrator and hacker who was accused in 2002 of perpetrating the "biggest military computer hack of all time", although McKinnon himself states that he was merely looking for evi ...

, who suffers from

Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in Interpersonal relationship, social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and re ...

, from being extradited to the United States to face charges relating to computer hacking. Slack wrote the controversial "

Enemies of the People The term enemy of the people or enemy of the nation, is a designation for the political or class opponents of the subgroup in power within a larger group. The term implies that by opposing the ruling subgroup, the "enemies" in question are ac ...

" front-page article on 4 November 2016 which criticised senior judges in England's

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...

who had made a decision the ''Daily Mail'' did not agree with. At the end of January 2017 it appeared that Slack was to be appointed 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 ...

, which was confirmed on 10 February 2017. He remained in the post after

took over the government on 24 July 2019. Slack was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in Theresa May's resignation honours list for public service. Following the announcement that the then-

Lee Cain Lee Edward Cain (born 1981) is a British public relations professional and former journalist who served as Downing Street Director of Communications under Boris Johnson from July 2019 until the end of 2020. Education Cain attended Ormskirk Gr ...

, had resigned from government and would leave his post at the end of December 2020 it was confirmed that Slack would assume this position in the new year. In March 2021, it was announced that he was leaving Downing Street to join '' The Sun'' as deputy editor in succession to Keith Poole. He was replaced as Director of Communications by Jack Doyle, a former ''Daily Mail'' associate editor for politics. On 13 January 2022, ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported on two parties alleged to have been held at 10 Downing Street in April 2021, on the eve of the

funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

, when the UK was observing a period of

national mourning A national day of mourning is a day or days marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of ...

following the Duke's death the previous week, and as England remained in step two lockdown restrictions, where people were only permitted to meet up outdoors. These were leaving events for Slack and for a photographer. The next day, Slack and Downing Street confirmed there was an event, with Slack apologising for what happened.

References

Living people British political journalists Daily Mail journalists The Sun (United Kingdom) people Year of birth missing (living people) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire {{UK-journalist-stub

Career

See also

References