In a move that angered conservatives

Johnson cancels a £ 2.6m White House briefings plan

Boris Johnson is accused of wasting taxpayers' money.

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Members of the Conservative Party poured their ire on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson after he canceled his plans for White House-style televised press briefings despite spending £ 2.6 million on the hall in taxpayer money.

Members of Parliament said Media Wing No. 9 is now a "blue elephant", in a sarcastic nod to its flashy decor, amid speculation that the prime minister's press secretary, Allegra Stratton, will not "hang around" in this hall after her main role is canceled.

The daily televised briefings were due to begin next month in the Downing Street briefing room, which was refurbished after the prime minister insisted that the government should provide the public with more direct information, however, in an embarrassing shift, this facility would be used. Which was outfitted with microphones, console desks, cameras and computers, instead by ministers.

Stratton, a former television journalist and assistant consultant, Rishi Sunak, will leave Downing Street to head communications at the major climate change summit in Glasgow in November.

"It was starkly clear that when there are bad days, it would be uncomfortable for a press secretary to stand there and face hostile questions," said one Conservative MP. "This was not thought of from the start."

Another former minister said, "It was always a little dangerous, because you send a lamb to slaughter (meaning the secretary). It was a really bad idea. Now it seems like the plan is a blue elephant."

The decision to cancel the briefings reflects concerns among Johnson's top advisers that the plan could backfire, and Johnson's new communications director, Jack Doyle, and chief of staff Dan Rosenfeld, are believed to have argued the briefings were inappropriate.

One of the British government sources said that the Prime Minister is convinced that the briefings will only appear in newscasts when the government is facing a difficult day, and there have also been concerns that the events will cause journalists to raise embarrassing questions about the private life of the Prime Minister, which TV broadcasters may ignore.

The decision is a slap to Mrs. Stratton, who was personally persuaded by the Prime Minister to quit her role as Treasury's communications director in order to become "the face of the government."

10 Downing Street defended the decision to spend 2.6 million pounds on the hall, and a source said that the hall would be used for holding press conferences by the prime minister and other ministers, and the source said: "We have seen during the epidemic that the public welcomed the ministers and the prime minister to hold press conferences."

The deputy leader of the Labor Party, Angela Rainer, accused the ministers of "wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers' money in a vain and pointless project", adding, "It is clear that Boris Johnson is afraid of scrutiny and questions about the corrupt Conservative Party."

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