No. 10 disaster as Rishi Sunak’s chief spin physician quits after lower than a 12 months
Rishi Sunak’s comms chief Amber de Botton has sensationally give up No. 10 this afternoon, after lower than a 12 months within the job.
Ms Botton tweeted out a press release saying it had been “an honour and a privilege to serve as the Prime Minister’s Director of Communications but I have decided it is the right time to move on”.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Prime Minister for his support and his leadership.
“The team he has built around him is dedicated and focused because those are the qualities he inspires. I also want to thank my colleagues – No10 is a demanding and high pressure place to work – yet the professionalism and talent they display every day is exceptional.”
The Downing Street operation seems to be at pains to emphasize Ms Botton’s departure is an amicable one, with Rishi Sunak saying he would “like to thank Amber for all her hard work over the past year”.
“She brought with her top-level journalistic and management experience that has been invaluable.
“She has led the team with calm professionalism and has been instrumental in ensuring consistency and creativity across Whitehall communications.”
Her departure serves to spotlight what had been rising divides inside No. 10, nonetheless, over technique.
Downing Street has been anticipated, for some weeks now, to be coming into a feistier, extra aggressive mode, not least in attacking Labour and Sir Keir Starmer.
Yesterday it emerged Mr Sunak had appointed two new well-known spinners to prime jobs in No. 10 – former Matt Hancock aide Jamie Njoku-Goodwin and former David Cameron spinner Adam Atashzai.
Mr Njoku-Goodwin’s appointment, a really well-regarded determine among the many Westminster foyer of political journalists, was significantly awkward for Amber de Botton, and rumours she was not a fan of the choice.
Mr Njoku-Goodwin can be a former housemate of Mr Sunak’s Chief of Staff, Liam Booth-Smith, once more serving to emphasize the inner court docket politics of No. 10 and rivalries that always construct throughout the small, cramped and factious workplace house.
No. 10 will now hope to unleash a extra brutal marketing campaign of spinning and briefing in opposition to the Labour Party within the hope of shifting the polls.
With celebration convention season in only one month’s time, and the beginning of the lengthy General Election marketing campaign, politics is ready to warmth up to any extent further, and Mr Sunak will hope the lack of his chief spin physician who helped settle the ship after Liz Truss’ departure will assist him get on the entrance foot.
Ms de Botton joined No. 10 after a profession in broadcast media.
She spent over 5 years at Sky News as deputy head of politics, earlier than transferring to ITV the place she labored for 5 years.
No. 10 is but to announce Ms de Botton’s alternative as head of communications.