New televised daily Downing Street press conferences postponed
Downing Street’s planned televised press conferences have been indefinitely postponed due to the latest Covid lockdown.
The White House-style briefings, which will be led by new Number 10 press secretary Allegra Stratton, were supposed to begin on 11 January.
Downing Street said today there would instead be press conferences three times a week starting from next week to give the nation coronavirus updates.
There has not been a new date set for the beginning of Stratton’s press conferences.
The former ITV political journalist was working as Rishi Sunak’s head of media when she was chosen for the high-profile role in October.
Johnson has said the new setup will give the public more “direct engagement” with the government.
Currently journalists are able to question the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson, who is a civil servant, every day.
But under the new system Stratton, who was appointed by the Conservative Party, will appear on camera as the US President’s press secretary does.
The government announced it had started its search for a new spokesperson in July, sparking speculation over who would take up the new role, which commands a reported salary of £100,000.