Former journalist Allegra Stratton will lead No 10’s new daily televised press briefings, BBC sources understand.
Stratton – who has worked for both ITV and the BBC – will become the government’s new press secretary.
The daily updates, similar to the format used by the White House in the United States, are expected to start later this month.
Boris Johnson has said the briefings will allow the public more “direct engagement” with the government.
The change comes after a raft of televised press conferences from Downing Street during the coronavirus pandemic.
Currently, political journalists are able to question the prime minister’s official spokesperson – who is a civil servant – off camera every day.
These briefings are on the record, meaning they can be quoted and attributed to the spokesperson, who is never named. Under the changes, the briefings will be on camera.
Stratton’s role, however, is a political appointment by the Conservative Party.
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