Scottish Daily Mail

Carrie has her feet under the table at No 10

- By Larisa Brown Political Correspond­ent

BEAMING in mustard yellow, Carrie Symonds was pictured with Boris Johnson inside No 10 for the first time yesterday.

The Prime Minister and his girlfriend were seen laughing as they sat next to each other at a reception for frontline hospice staff.

Mr Johnson, 55, was also pictured standing behind the 31-year-old with his hands on his hips as she chatted to a group of women at the event.

No10’s official Twitter account published photograph­s from the event, with the caption: ‘PM Boris Johnson hosted a reception at Downing Street to thank hospice staff for their hard work, dedication and compassion.’

Miss Symonds, who appears to have dyed her hair a darker shade, has largely kept out of the spotlight since the Prime Minister moved into Downing Street.

She was photograph­ed watching his first speech as Prime Minister on the steps of No10 last month, and was then spotted enjoying an evening out with her boyfriend at an Italian bistro. However, no official photograph­s of the pair together had been released until yesterday. The couple had been living together at Miss Symonds’s flat in Camberwell, south London, where neighbours recorded the couple’s explosive row.

They had already put an offer in on a £1.3million four-bedroom home and started staying at a friend’s house while they waited to exchange contracts.

They are now the first unmarried couple to live in Downing Street and reside in the expansive flat above No 11.

Miss Symonds worked for Chancellor Sajid Javid when he held the local government brief, as well as for John Whittingda­le during his time as Culture Secretary. Following a brief spell as an adviser to Tory MP Zac Goldsmith, she was appointed to the strategic role of Conservati­ve communicat­ions chief.

Miss Symonds quit working for Conservati­ve Campaign Headquarte­rs in 2018. She grew up in East Sheen, southwest London, and attended the prestigiou­s Godolphin and Latymer School.

The couple have not commented on the row at her old flat. Mr Johnson told the BBC it was ‘simply unfair’ to ‘drag’ his loved ones into politics.

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