Allegra Stratton has stepped down as the government's spokesman for the Cop26 climate summit after she was filmed joking about a party at Downing Street.
In a statement sent to journalists and read out to TV crews in front of her home, Boris Johnson's former press secretary said she deeply regretted joking with other No 10 aides during a rehearsal for a later-dropped plan for filmed Downing Street press conferences.
The British people have made a lot of sacrifice in the fight against Covid 19. She said that her comments in the leaked video of 20 December may have become a distraction.
My remarks made light of the rules that people were following. That was never my intent. I will apologize for those remarks for the rest of my life.
She said she was proud of her work on Cop26 and that she understood the anger and frustration of the people. I offered my resignation to the prime minister this afternoon, to all of you who lost loved ones, suffered intolerable loneliness, and struggled with your businesses.
The planned Downing Street briefings were axed. Stratton was a journalist for the Guardian, the BBC and the ITV before working for the chancellor.
