Amber de Botton
Downing Street Director of Communications
In office
29 October 2022 – 1 September 2023
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byAdam Jones (political)
Simon McGee (government)
Succeeded byNerissa Chesterfield
Personal details
Born1985/86
SpouseOli de Botton
EducationUniversity of Durham

Amber de Botton (born 1985/86)[1] is a British journalist and former political aide. She served as the Downing Street Director of Communications from October 2022 until September 2023, succeeding Guto Harri.[2]

Journalism career

She graduated from Durham University in 2007 with a degree in History and Politics. Following university she embarked on a media career and was Deputy Head of Politics at Sky News for five years until 2017 and then worked at ITV News as Head of Politics and subsequently Head of UK News.[3] In her role as ITV News's Home News Editor, she oversaw breaking news of the Partygate scandal in December 2021, when video emerged of Allegra Stratton, the Downing Street Press Secretary, joking about a party that had been held at 10 Downing Street during the COVID-19 lockdown.[1]

Downing Street Director of Communications

Prior to her appointment as Downing Street Director of Communications, de Botton was approached on at least three previous occasions with job offers in government, but had declined them. In 2010 she was offered a role with the Treasury under then Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, and later received two offers of roles in the Johnson government, first as deputy to Director of Communications Lee Cain, and later as Press Secretary, fronting daily press conferences during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

Following Rishi Sunak's election as leader of the Conservative Party and his subsequent appointment as Prime Minister, de Botton was appointed as the new Downing Street Director of Communications on 29 October 2022.[4] During her tenure at Downing Street, de Botton kept a lower profile than some of her predecessors, with the Politico website suggestion she had "restored professionalism to the Downing Street operation" following the turbulence of Partygate. One of her first actions was to scrap the long-established morning ministerial broadcast round, whereby a government minister would appear on morning news programmes, replacing it instead with twice-weekly appearances, designed to coincide with important announcements from the government.[1] She stood down from the post on 1 September 2023, saying she had "decided it is the right time to move on".[5] She was succeeded in the role by Sunak's Press Secretary, Nerissa Chesterfield.[6]

Personal life

She is married to Oli de Botton, who stood as the Labour Party candidate in Hitchin and Harpenden at the 2010 general election.[7] Also in 2010, he worked on David Miliband's unsuccessful campaign to become Labour Party leader, and later co-founded a free school with Peter Hyman, a former strategist who worked for Tony Blair during his time as prime minister.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Courea, Eleni (20 February 2023). "Amber de Botton: 'Partygate' poacher-turned-gamekeeper in Rishi Sunak's Downing Street". Politico. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  2. ^ Zeldin-O'Neill, Sophie (29 October 2022). "Rishi Sunak hires ITV head of UK news as communications chief". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  3. ^ Strick, Katie (2 November 2022). "Amber de Botton: the Partygate news hack hired as Rishi's new comms chief". Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  4. ^ Rhoden-Paul, Andre (29 October 2022). "Rishi Sunak hires ITV's Amber de Botton as communications chief". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Amber de Botton leaves No 10 job after less than a year". Press Gazette. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Rishi Sunak's communications chief Amber de Botton leaves No 10". BBC News. BBC. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  7. ^ Owen, Jonathan (3 November 2022). "'Can poachers make good gamekeepers?' Meet Downing Street's new comms chief". PR Week. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
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