Allegra Stratton
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Allegra Elizabeth Jane Stratton (born 10 April 1980) is a British former political aide, journalist, and writer who served as
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 ...
under
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 ...
from November 2020 to April 2021. Stratton worked for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' as a political correspondent until joining the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 2012, where she was
political editor The political editor of a newspaper or broadcaster is the senior political reporter who covers politics and related matters for the newspaper or station. They may have a large team of political correspondents working under them. In publishing, beca ...
of BBC Two's ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'' from 2012 to 2016. She worked for ITV as national editor of ITV News from 2016 to 2018 and co-presenter of '' Peston on Sunday'' from 2016 to 2018. After leaving journalism, she became a spokesperson for the British government. She was Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Director of Strategic Communications at the Treasury from April until October 2020, when she became the press secretary for 10 Downing Street. In April 2021, Stratton was appointed as spokesperson for
COP26 The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP26, was the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, held at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, from 31 October to 13 November 2021. The ...
President
Alok Sharma Alok Sharma (born 7 September 1967) is a British politician who served as the President for COP26 from 2021-2022. Resigning his previous position as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in order to lead COP26, he re ...
. She resigned from this post in December 2021 after footage was released of her at a December 2020 press conference rehearsal, in which she joked with colleagues about a Christmas party that secretly took place at 10 Downing Street while the country was in a
COVID-19 lockdown Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...
.


Early life

Allegra Elizabeth Jane Stratton was born in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
on 10 April 1980, one of four children born to a translator father and textile artist mother. She grew up in the Chiswick area of
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. She was named after
Allegra Byron Clara Allegra Byron (12 January 1817 – 20 April 1822) was the illegitimate daughter of the poet George Gordon, Lord Byron and Claire Clairmont. Born in Bath, England, she was initially named Alba, meaning "dawn", or "white", by her mother. A ...
, a daughter of the poet
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
.Alt URL
/ref> She attended Chiswick Community School and
Latymer Upper School (Slowly Therefore Surely) , established = , closed = , sister_school = Godolphin and Latymer School , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , head_label = H ...
, an independent school in the Hammersmith district of London, before studying archaeology and anthropology at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.


Career


Journalism

Stratton worked as a producer for the BBC Television current affairs programme ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'', on the foreign desk at ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'', and wrote for ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' and the ''
New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...
''. She then joined ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' as a political correspondent, presenting the newspaper's Politics Weekly podcast with journalist Tom Clark. In 2006, Stratton published a non-fiction book, ''Muhajababes'', that explored the youth culture of the Middle East and the contradictions of the modern life of young adults in Muslim societies. The book was based on Stratton's experiences of travelling in the region in 2005. Stratton returned to the BBC on 20 February 2012, as
political editor The political editor of a newspaper or broadcaster is the senior political reporter who covers politics and related matters for the newspaper or station. They may have a large team of political correspondents working under them. In publishing, beca ...
of ''Newsnight'', replacing Michael Crick who left to become a political correspondent for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
. In May the same year, she faced criticism for a ''Newsnight'' interview with a single mother who was claiming housing benefit. The interviewee described feeling "humiliated" by Stratton, who misrepresented her as unemployed. '' Private Eye'' magazine reported that Stratton had chosen the single mother over several other interviewees offered, including a couple with four children who had lost their jobs and faced homelessness. This incident led to a 20,000-signature petition soliciting an apology from Stratton and ''Newsnight''. Following an official complaint to the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit, a correction and apology was issued by
Peter Rippon Peter William Rippon (born 22 August 1965) is a British broadcasting executive. He is Editor of BBC Online Archive. Prior to this he was Editor of BBC Television's current affairs programme ''Newsnight''. Early life Peter Rippon was born in ...
, the editor of Newsnight, in August. In November 2015, the BBC announced that Stratton was leaving to join ITV News as its national editor. She made her first appearance on ITV's '' News at Ten'' in January 2016 and co-presented '' Peston on Sunday'' with
Robert Peston Robert James Kenneth Peston (born 25 April 1960) is an English journalist, presenter, and author. He is the political editor of ITV News and host of the weekly political discussion show ''Peston'' (previously ''Peston on Sunday''). From 2006 u ...
until April 2018, when she departed to spend weekends with her children. After a six-month hiatus, in June 2022, Stratton joined
Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Tele ...
as UK contributing editor, writing an afternoon newsletter called "Readout".


Government communications

Stratton left ITV News in April 2020 to become Director of Strategic Communications at the Treasury under Chancellor Rishi Sunak. Six months later, in October 2020, she was given the newly created role of
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 ...
, to present proposed televised press briefings initially scheduled for launch in November 2020. The briefings were subsequently delayed to January 2021 and it was reported that they would take place when the House of Commons was sitting on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. The January launch date was repeatedly pushed back due to the
COVID-19 lockdowns Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countri ...
and on 20 April it was announced that the briefings would be scrapped entirely, with Stratton instead becoming the spokesperson for the COP26 summit that was held in Glasgow in November 2021. In this role, she made comments that a diesel car suited her lifestyle better than an electric car, that rinsing plates before putting them in the dishwasher would help the environment, and that the public should join the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
in order to combat the climate crisis. During the conference ''The Guardian'' reported she "stayed in the background" and had "an unclear role".


2020 Downing Street Christmas party controversy

On 7 December 2021, ITV News released a video of a mock
press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...
from 22 December 2020, in which Stratton and other Downing Street staff made joking references to a Christmas gathering at 10 Downing Street that took place four days earlier. In the leaked 47-second clip, filmed from the Downing Street Press Briefing Room, Stratton and the other staff joked about the "fictional party" being just "cheese and wine" and a "business meeting" with "no social distancing".
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
reported that the event had "several dozen" attendees and that "party games were played, food and drink were served, and the party went on past midnight". At the time of the alleged party, London was under COVID-19 tier 3 lockdown restrictions. The restrictions prohibited indoor gatherings of more than six people, with exceptions for certain work-related activities. The day after the ITV story was broadcast, 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 ...
apologised for the video during
Prime Minister's Questions Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every W ...
, describing himself as "furious" about it, but continued to deny that a party had taken place and declared that an investigation would be undertaken by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case. Three hours later, Stratton resigned from her position as government spokesperson for the COP26 summit and apologised for her remarks which she asserted she would regret "for the rest of erdays". On 15 December, a picture was leaked showing Johnson taking part in a Christmas quiz at 10 Downing Street around the same time that the parties happened in 2020; the quiz was virtual and happened online, but the picture showed Johnson sitting in a room with at least two other people.


Personal life

Stratton is married to James Forsyth, political editor of ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' magazine. They have two children and live in the
Canonbury Canonbury is a residential area of Islington in the London Borough of Islington, North London. It is roughly in the area between Essex Road, Upper Street and Cross Street and either side of St Paul's Road. In 1253 land in the area was granted to ...
area of
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Future
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Rishi Sunak was
best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony and performs the first speech at the wedding. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be ...
at their wedding in 2011, and they and Sunak are godparents to each other's children. In November 2020, Stratton told ''
The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...
'' that she had voted for the Labour Party, the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
, and the Liberal Democrats in the past, but later supported
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...
and described herself as "a
Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...
Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
". She is said to be an ally and friend of Johnson's wife Carrie.


Publications

*


References


External links

* *
Profile: Allegra Stratton
November 2020 profile on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stratton, Allegra 1980 births Living people Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge BBC newsreaders and journalists BBC television producers Boris Johnson British political journalists British reporters and correspondents Conservative Party (UK) officials ITN newsreaders and journalists People educated at Latymer Upper School People from Canonbury People from Chiswick