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| Tim Allan |
Tim Allan, communications director for embattled British prime minister Keir Starmer, has quit as the Jeffrey Epstein scandal has engulfed Ten Downing Street.
The founder of Omnicom’s Portland unit said he’s leaving to allow Starmer to build a new PR team. His “out of office” notice on his WhatsApp account says he’s “gone golfing," according to the Financial Times.
Allan’s exit comes on the heels of the departure of Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who took responsibility for advising him to appoint Peter Mendelson as US ambassador.
Allan, who also advised former UK pm Tony Blair, was Starmer’s third director of communications since the PM took office in July 2024.
He retains a minority state in Strand Partners, which counts Netflix, British Horseracing Authority and Cadet Gas as clients.
Tricia McLaughlin, the combative spokesperson for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, is leaving her post.
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Orchestra has recruited Deepika Sandhu for the senior VP-legal & crisis communications slot.
Apologies are often seen as a weakness or as proof that a leader has lost control of the narrative. But Donald Trump's failure to apologize after he posted—and then deleted—a video with a racist clip of Barack and Michelle Obama shows how flawed this mindset is.
The new playbook for surviving a public crisis.
