Passionate and energetic, PM’s fiancee is a popular figure in political circles
Environmental campaigner, political adviser and confidante, Carrie Symonds will now take an official place in national life as the Prime Minister’s wife-to-be.
Although she maintained a low profile after moving into Downing Street with Boris Johnson in July last year, following his victory in the Conservative Party leadership contest, it was not for any lack of character or personality.
Indeed, a quick look at her CV reveals a wide array of causes behind which she has thrown her energy and enthusiasm.
Among them was a US-based environmental campaign group, Oceana, which in recent years she helped promote in Britain, with the charity’s website describing her as being “passionate about protecting the oceans and marine life”.
Her father Matthew Symonds was one of the founders of The Independent newspaper, while her mother, Josephine Mcaffee, was one of the e paper’s lawyers.
Her paternal grandfather was John Beavan, Baron Ardwick, a newspaper editor and Labour Party y MEP in the Seventies, and her paternal grandmother was Anne e Symonds, a BBC World Service journalist.
Ms Symonds grew up in south-west London and attended Godolphin & Latymer girls school in n Hammersmith, before graduating from the University of Warwick with a bachelor’s degree in theatre eatre studies and history of art in 2009.
Her association with Mr Johnson dates back to when she worked on his successful re-election bid as London mayor in 2012.
Indeed the 31-year-old, ld, who was regularly described by her colleagues as “popular”, has been at the heart of the so-called Westminster bubble for much of her career. She was a special adviser to Sajid Javid during his time as communities secretary, following a similar stint with John Whittingdale when he presided over the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
She also worked on Zac Goldsmith’s failed attempt to succeed Mr Johnson as London mayor.
Ms Symonds joined the Conservatives’ media operation in 2009, first as a press adviser, then as the head of broadcast at Conservative Campaign Headquarters ahead of the 2015 general election.
Before entering the world of political PR, she had several jobs in commercial communications and marketing.
During her late teens Ms Symonds suffered at the hands of the black cab rapist John Worboys when, after picking her up in his cab, he plied her with drugged vodka.
Ms Symonds, at the time in her first year of theatre studies at Warwick University, blacked out
‘I’m still h happy to go out but I will never get into a black bla cab on my own again’
and to this day does not know what happened until she woke up and managed to stagger home.
“The worst thing is not having peace of mind. I’m 99.9 per cent sure that nothing happened to me but I will never know,” she said.
In 2009, she told The Sunday Sun Telegraph that the experience had left deep emotional scars.
“I am still happy to go out but I will never get into a black cab on my own again,” she said. “It was absolutely t terrifying when I found out how many women he had gone after.” There are not many in Westminster who will not share in her delight at yesterday’s announcement.