Ken and Chelsea council hires Tory broadcast chief

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has appointed the

Conservative Party's head of broadcasting as its director of

communications.

Penny Mordaunt will head a team of six and report directly to chief

executive Derek Myers at the council, which covers the constituency of

Tory leadership contender Michael Portillo.

Mordaunt, who joins next week, will be the council's first permanent

comms director.

The role was created earlier this year as a response to an increase in

media activity at the council, which launched its website in

February.

Andrew Hillier, formerly head of PR at Westminster Council, who left to

take up consultancy work, has been acting director in the interim.

The council this week persuaded London mayor Ken Livingstone not to

re-route the borough's Notting Hill Carnival, which saw two murders last

year.

At Conservative Central Office (CCO), Mordaunt reported to Andrew

Scadding, deputy head of media.

As head of broadcasting she was seconded to aid George W Bush's campaign

last year as part of an exchange of PROs between the Tories and

Republicans.

In return, Cherylyn Harley, deputy press secretary to the Republican

National Committee, spent a fortnight at CCO immediately before the

election campaign.

- Alex Challoner, Golin/ Harris Ludgate client services director, has

joined Portillo's leadership campaign team. The former campaign aide to

Tory mayoral candidate's Steve Norris is still at GHL but is

volunteering to assist Portillo in his spare time.

This article was first published on PR Week UK