Commissioned by The Daily Telegraph to photograph Cabinet Ministers at Downing Street
With the current political turmoil created by the Conservative Party’s own Prime Minister, it is hard to avoid a day or two standing outside No.10 Downing Street. Early on in January 2022 Commissioned by The Daily Telegraph to watch the comings and goings of any Cabinet Members or even Sue Gray delivering her “Partygate” inquiry. It can be an uneventful day, especially on a Friday, when most MP’s are working from their constituencies outside the capital.
Downing Street is one of the chilliest streets, with hardly any sunshine. Even in summer you almost require thermal’s to keep warm! The side of the street the photographers stand is almost always in the shade. Most of the day we are almost teased by the brightness of the sun blazing across the street at the bottom of the Policed gates opening onto Whitehall.
Flash-Mob in Whitehall outside gates of No.10
Around about lunchtime, there was a gathering of protesters down at the gates. In a moment I raced down to the entrance to get outside on Whitehall. Luckily the Policeman manning the gate let me out, as they can lock down the street for security, meaning no ‘ins’, and no ‘outs’. There was a flash-mob all dressed up as Boris Johnson. Wearing suits, masks, and blond wigs, chanting “This is a work event!” I moved around them trying to compose the images with Downing Street directly behind, and with only protesters with masks correctly over their faces.
For this shot, I used a Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless camera. The photographs were initially published in The Daily Telegraph. Since, I have licensed the images to The New Statesman, ByLine Times, and many more editorial publications.
