Allegra Stratton

Allegra Stratton
Stratton in 2015
Downing Street Press Secretary
In office
8 October 2020 – 20 April 2021
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byRob Oxley
Succeeded byRosie Bate-Williams[1]
Personal details
Born
Allegra Elizabeth Jane Stratton

(1980-04-10) 10 April 1980 (age 44)
Nottingham, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
(m. 2011)
Children2
Alma materEmmanuel College, Cambridge
Occupation
  • Political aide
  • journalist
  • writer

Allegra Elizabeth Jane Stratton (born 10 April 1980) is a British former political aide, journalist, and writer who served as Downing Street Press Secretary under Boris Johnson from November 2020 to April 2021.

Stratton worked for The Guardian as a political correspondent until joining the BBC in 2012, where she was political editor of BBC Two's Newsnight from 2012 to 2016. She worked for ITV as national editor of ITV News from 2016 to 2018 and co-presenter of Peston on Sunday from 2016 to 2018. After leaving journalism, she became a spokesperson for the British government. She was Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Director of Strategic Communications at the Treasury from April until October 2020, when she became the press secretary for 10 Downing Street.

In April 2021, Stratton was appointed as spokesperson for COP26 President Alok Sharma. She resigned from this post in December 2021 after footage was released of her at a December 2020 press conference rehearsal, in which she joked with colleagues about a Christmas party that secretly took place at 10 Downing Street while the country was in a COVID-19 lockdown.

  1. ^ Allegretti, Aubrey; Elgot, Jessica (21 April 2021). "Few tears likely to be shed as plan for No 10 TV press briefings dropped". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2021.