Labour Spends £80,000 Making Tory Blue Downing Street Briefing Room 'Politically Neutral'

Labour has spent up to £80,000 removing all traces of Tory blue from the Downing Street briefing room.

Keir Starmer’s official spokesman admitted the makeover has taken place to make the facility next door to No.10 “politically neutral”.

It is understood that the prime minister will now start using the room for press conferences.

Under Boris Johnson, the then Tory government spent £2.6 million turning the room in 9 Downing Street into a state-of-the-art media briefing room.

Plans to televise the daily briefings given to journalists by the PM’s spokesman were ditched, but the room was used regularly for press conferences during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the new makeover, the previously-blue backdrop has been replaced by wood panelling, while its blue boards have been painted grey.

The PM’s spokesman said: “A one-off refresh of the Number 9 media briefing room took place to restore the room to a politically neutral setting.

“The panelling restores the room back to its original state. As you will be aware the cost is obviously a fraction of what the previous administration spent on the room.”

The spokesman also said the government is cutting £80 million from its overall communications budget.

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood said: “This is yet more staggering hypocrisy from Labour. 

“Not content with a state-of-the-art media facility, Labour have instead splashed taxpayer’s cash on a vanity refurbishment – a refurbishment that one of Labour’s own ministers denied was happening just weeks ago.”