Head of News
Public Affairs and Communications.
As a public sector PR, I’ve been very fortunate to work on a number of high profile projects and meet some fascinating people.
At the Government’s regional press office (COI West Midlands) I was part of the team handling the media at Princess Diana’s funeral, stationed opposite Westminster Abbey; and won a PR Week Award (crisis management) for managing the opening of the controversial Newbury Bypass and the eviction of Swampy-style environmental protestors from the M6 Toll site.
Heading south for Whitehall I worked closely with three ministers, most notably as press secretary to former Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) John Prescott.
In my roles I attended Alastair Campbell’s daily breakfast meetings for News Heads at No 10; security COBRA briefings during the national firefighters’ strike; and visited more than a dozen countries with the DPM to promote climate change, which included meeting former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan in New York and dodging a Daily Mail photographer in Auckland harbour.
I moved into PR – the dark side – after training and qualifying as a journalist (NCTJ) on the Wolverhampton Express & Star and shifting on the nationals (Daily Mail, Daily Express, Sunday Telegraph).
After newspapers, COI and Whitehall, I found my way back to the Midlands – and friends and family – joining Birmingham City Council last year via stints at the Highways Agency to launch the uniformed motorway traffic officers and Telford & Wrekin Council to help a new political party into leadership after 25 years in opposition.
