9 Downing Street is one of the buildings situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster in London, England. It has been used as a separate address to the better known 10 Downing Street since 2001 for various government functions.
The building was previously part of the more famous 10 Downing Street, which has been the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury since 1732. [1] This is normally the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. [2] Many internal refurbishments over the years have altered the interior of 10 Downing Street, 11 Downing Street and 12 Downing Street to the point that they are all part of a single complex. [1] It was part of a reorganisation in 2001 that the number 9 address was created. [3]
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council was based at 9 Downing Street until August 2009, when it moved to Middlesex Guildhall with the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. It subsequently housed the offices of the Chief Whip, though their official address remained No. 12. From 2016 until 2020 the building was used to house the Department for Exiting the European Union. [4]
In January 2020, the government began hosting lobby briefings at 9 Downing Street instead of the traditional location in the House of Commons. The move was criticised by journalists. [5] [6] That year the building began undergoing a £2.6-million refurbishment in preparation for televised press briefings to be held. [7]
The Downing Street Press Briefing Room is located in No. 9; the first press conferences were held by Boris Johnson in March 2021. [8]
In the 1980s British satirical show Spitting Image , Adolf Hitler is presented as living at 9 Downing Street under the name of Herr Willcocks and offering political assistance to the unaware Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. [9]
Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In a cul-de-sac situated off Whitehall, it is 200 metres (660 ft) long, and a few minutes' walk from the Houses of Parliament. Downing Street was built in the 1680s by Sir George Downing.
Mayfair is an area in London, England and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts in the world.
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Square. The street is recognised as the centre of the Government of the United Kingdom and is lined with numerous departments and ministries, including the Ministry of Defence, Horse Guards and the Cabinet Office. Consequently, the name "Whitehall" is used as a metonym for the British civil service and government, and as the geographic name for the surrounding area.
Oxford Circus is a road junction connecting Oxford Street and Regent Street in the West End of London. It is also the entrance to Oxford Circus tube station.
The Strand is a major street in the City of Westminster, Central London. The street, which is part of London's West End theatreland, runs just over 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) from Trafalgar Square eastwards to Temple Bar, where it becomes Fleet Street in the City of London, and is part of the A4, a main road running west from inner London.
Belgravia is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
11 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 11, is the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The residence, in Downing Street in London, was built alongside the official residence of the Prime Minister at Number 10 in 1682.
Pall Mall is a street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster, Central London. It connects St James's Street to Trafalgar Square and is a section of the regional A4 road. The street's name is derived from pall-mall, a ball game played there during the 17th century, which in turn is derived from the Italian pallamaglio, literally "ball-mallet".
Bayswater Road is the main road running along the northern edge of Hyde Park in London. Originally part of the A40 road, it is now designated part of the A402 road.
12 Downing Street is one of the buildings situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster in London, England. It has been traditionally used as the office of the Chief Whip although the upper floor forms part of the residential apartment for the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It has been owned and used by the Crown since 1803, first housing the Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces and then the Colonial Office, before the office of the Chief Whip moved into the premises in 1879 until 2001. It is a Grade II listed building.
Sir James Philip Duddridge, is a British politician and former banker. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochford and Southend East from 2005 to 2024. Duddridge previously held several ministerial positions under prime ministers David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
Allegra Elizabeth Jane Stratton 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.
The terms the Lobby and Lobby journalists collectively characterise the political journalists in the United Kingdom Houses of Parliament. The term derives from the special access they receive to the Members' Lobby. Lobby journalism refers to the news coverage, largely unattributed, generated by reporters from the political proceedings in Parliament.
The Downing Street Press Secretary is an adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on news media and how to manage the image of the British government to the press. The position is part of the Prime Minister's Office and involves using information on what is happening in the UK and around the world, to decide on how the Prime Minister should present his or her reaction to the media. The incumbent also advises on how to handle news stories and other information which could affect the current Prime Minister or the Ministry.
Lee Benjamin Rowley is a British politician and former management consultant who served as Minister of State for Housing, Planning and Building Safety from November 2023 to July 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Derbyshire from 2017 to 2024. He previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government and Building Safety between October 2022 and November 2023.
Angel Recording Studios Limited is a British recording studio based in the eponymous recording and mixing complex in Islington, London. The company was incorporated by James Warren Sylvester de Wolfe on 5 December 1978. After ownership of the property transferred to third parties, the facility was closed at the end of 2019 and, after a transfer of ownership to Abbey Road Studios reopened in 2022.
Caroline Louise Beavan Johnson is an English media consultant and is married to Boris Johnson. She is the daughter of Matthew Symonds, co-founder of The Independent.
Westminster City Hall is a municipal building in Victoria Street in Westminster, London. It is the headquarters of Westminster City Council.
Great George Street is a street in Westminster, London, leading from Parliament Square to Birdcage Walk. The area of the current street was occupied by a number of small roads and yards housing inns and tenements. In the 1750s these were demolished and Great George Street laid out with "houses only as are fit for the habitation of persons of fortune and distinction". Part of the street was demolished in 1806 and is now part of Parliament Square. Between 1898 and 1915 the entire north side of the street was demolished for the construction of the Government Offices Great George Street. The street houses the headquarters of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, whose building includes the only surviving 1750s façade, and the Institution of Civil Engineers. The street formerly housed the National Portrait Gallery.
The Downing Street Press Briefing Room was a news media room located in 9 Downing Street where press conferences were hosted by the Prime Minister, Cabinet ministers, and government officials. The Prime Minister has also used the room to give ministerial broadcasts to the country and the press.
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