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.[1] The post was temporarily vacant from April to July 2017 following the resignation of the former Director of Communications Katie Perrior.[2] The current Director of Communications is Lee Cain who was appointed by Boris Johnson on 24 July 2019.[3]

Downing Street Director of Communications
Royal Arms as used by Her Majesty's Government
Incumbent
Lee Cain
since 24 July 2019
Prime Minister's Office
AppointerPrime Minister
Formation2000
First holderAlastair Campbell
Website10 Downing Street

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, which was removed after Campbell's departure in 2003.[4]

In 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.[5] 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.'[6]

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–present Boris Johnson

See also

References
  1. "Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  2. Mason, Rowena; Asthana, Anushka (2017-06-10). "Theresa May's 'rude, abusive and childish' advisers face calls to quit". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  3. Walker, Peter; Mason, Rowena (2017-07-06). "Theresa May hires BBC's Robbie Gibb as communications chief". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  4. Editor, George Jones, Political (2002-06-17). "Curb Campbell's powers over civil servants, says watchdog". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-02-26.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  5. Sweney, Mark (2012-07-12). "The Thick of It to return with Leveson-style inquiry". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  6. Dee, Johnny (2009-10-16). "Peter Capaldi: Malcolm Tucker is Alastair Campbell. But Mandelson is in there, too". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
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