Chancellor and rising star Rishi Sunak has his own David Bailey at the Treasury, which has followed in the footsteps of Downing Street where there are now two dedicated snappers to capture flattering images of the Prime Minister.
The Londoner understands that former Times photographer Simon Walker joined at the end of last year. A source at the Treasury told us “a digital content editor” had been hired as part of their social media team and added: “It’s not unusual to have someone in comms who leads on photography. This is just moving with the times.” But the rise of the in-house photographer has not gone down well with members of the press pack. “It’s all about controlling the image,” a source told us. “We have found that we now have less access than we used to for big moments with the big beasts like the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Foreign Secretary. We used to get invited in a lot more to capture events like preparing for budget day but that’s changing.
“The advisers are paranoid about us taking those interesting, iconic shots which often capture a thousand words. Even Tony Blair’s lot were nothing compared to this.”
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Comic Sophie Duker says she will longer appear on Radio 4’s News Quiz unless it employs more black people. She said: “Why are my melanated peers so frustrated? The UK needs to see and hear all kinds of black people talking about things other than their own pain.” She added “I ALSO HAVE THOUGHTS ON AIRPLANE FOOD.” And we want to hear them.
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DOMINIC CUMMINGS’S secret diary will finally see the light of day. The full story of the long road to Barnard Castle and other musings will arrive via the mind of Arthur Mathews, a co-creator of Father Ted. The Cummings Files will be published by Faber in October, but let’s hope it’s not as long as its subject’s interminable blog posts.
SW1A
