Photographing five prime ministers
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 29 May 2023
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We’re away for the bank holiday, so in the meantime we're bringing you a highlight from another Times podcast, Red Box, in which Matt Chorley presents the best interviews, analysis and panel discussions from his Times Radio show.
For more than a decade Andrew Parsons was the official Downing Street photographer - chronicling life at No 10 with every prime minister from David Cameron to Rishi Sunak. He talks to Matt about capturing everything from David Cameron pre-emptively writing his resignation letter in 2015, to THAT lock down breaking birthday party in the Cabinet room.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, it's Manveen, bringing you something a little bit different for this bank holiday |
| 0:06.4 | Monday. |
| 0:07.4 | Redbox is our sister podcast from The Times, featuring the highlights from Matt Chawley's Times |
| 0:13.4 | radio show. |
| 0:14.4 | Matt's guest in this episode was Andrew Parsons. |
| 0:19.4 | You might not know his name, but you definitely know his work. |
| 0:23.4 | For more than a decade he was the personal photographer to British Prime Ministers, chronicling |
| 0:29.1 | life at number 10 with every PM from David Cameron to Rishi Sunak. |
| 0:35.0 | In this interview he reveals what it's like to be in the room as political history is |
| 0:40.5 | being made, and he talks about being the photographer at the rule-breaking lockdown parties. |
| 0:48.0 | I'll be back as usual tomorrow, but for now, here's Matt Chawley. |
| 0:54.2 | You've all wanted to be a fly on the wall, and those big political moments my guest today |
| 0:59.5 | has actually done it. |
| 1:00.9 | For more than a decade, Andrew Parsons has been the official photographer for Prime Ministers, |
| 1:06.2 | he's captured Ministers here in the UK and around the world, and occasionally when they've |
| 1:11.0 | been knocking children over playing sports as well. |
| 1:13.8 | Andy, do you want to know how you're doing? |
| 1:15.4 | Matt, I'm very well. |
| 1:16.4 | I'm very well on you. |
| 1:17.4 | Yeah, before we get stuck into you taking pictures of Prime Ministers, we've just realised |
| 1:20.2 | you took my photo 18 years ago. |
| 1:23.3 | All the glorious leaders of the world. |
... |
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