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Dominic Cummings and Seumas Milne: In the firing line or just being used for target practice?
On a day when Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears to have clinched a deal with the EU - although not yet the blessing of his DUP allies or the UK Parliament - swirling media reports predict the end of the tenure of his controversial special adviser, Dominic Cummings, as well as that of Jeremy Corbyn's comms chief, Seumas Milne. But is it just all just hot air and spin?
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Exclusive: Hanbury Strategy takes on former Number 10 senior staffer
Public affairs agency Hanbury Strategy has secured the services of Joe Moor, former director of legislative affairs at Number 10, who will join the agency as a director later this month, it announced today.
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Manuka honey appoints UK comms agency after competitive pitch
The New Zealand Manuka Group (NZMG) has appointed health specialist Pegasus as its first retained agency to handle communications in the UK, after a competitive pitch involving four agencies.
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ONEHealth boosts media offering with acquisition
Healthcare and pharma marketing specialist ONEHealth has acquired media planning and buying agency Bartlett Davis Communications.
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WPP Health staff hook up to health-tech firm to monitor for stress and anxiety
A groundbreaking partnership between WPP Health Practice and health-tech company BioBeats aims to recruit 100 agency staff to volunteer for a major initiative to understand and improve stress and anxiety at work.
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Field Consulting wins major trade body account
The Home Builders Federation has appointed Field Consulting to deliver an integrated public affairs and corporate affairs brief to promote the interests of house-builders in the UK, and focusing on the essential role they play.
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Exclusive: DfID head of media departs for top UN comms role
Zoe Paxton, head of media at the Department for International Development (DfID) and a rising star in the Government Communication Service, is leaving for a top comms job at the United Nations, PRWeek can reveal.
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Shared fire and police comms team takes shape with senior hire
Heather Challinor, head of marketing and comms at Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, has been appointed senior comms manager for engagement and campaigns at Staffordshire Police.
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Royal seal of approval for historic mental health campaign
The government's biggest campaign on mental health to date, backed by the Royal Family, was the victim of its own success last night after the campaign website crashed due to the sheer weight of demand.
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NHS membership body launches first comms traineeship
NHS Providers, which represents hospital, mental health, community and ambulance trusts in England, has taken on its first communications trainee - a move it hopes will provide a solid foundation for a career in NHS communications and prompt change across the NHS.
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Health specialist returns to lead comms for ambulance service
The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust has appointed Lois Hough as head of external communications amid a major shake-up of its five-strong comms team.
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Police use convicted murderer in reach out to schoolchildren in #lifeorknife campaign
Sadam Essakhil's childhood dream was to play football for Liverpool. But he fell in with the wrong crowd, and by the time he was 15 he had killed a man.
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Identity parade campaign points to one of Britain's deadliest killers
The potent symbol of a police line-up of potential criminals is at the heart of a snap campaign by WPP Health Practice and the UK Sepsis Trust to boost awareness of one of Britain's biggest killers.
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Mental health guide launched to prevent comms professionals from breaking down
Concerns that significant numbers of PR practitioners are under increasing pressure, being trolled on social media and in need of counselling, have prompted the creation of a wellbeing guide for comms professionals.
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Major social platforms join Pinterest in disrupting anti-vaxxer propaganda
In the latest offensive in the war against anti-vaccination messaging, Facebook and Instagram are rolling out a new system to direct their users - more than three billion people worldwide - to expert information on vaccines.
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Agency boosts health and public affairs expertise with first acquisition in a decade
Comms agency Freshwater has enhanced its healthcare and public affairs offering by snapping up specialist consultancy Red Squirrel Communications and appointing founder Nick Samuels as director of healthcare, it announced this week.
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Case study: Celeb factor boosts pharma campaign
Sanofi Pasteur used the pulling power of TV presenters Ben Fogle and Dr Christian Jessen to help propel a travel health campaign onto the mainstream news agenda and boost visits to its Smarter Traveller website.
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'Micromanagement on steroids': comms pros react after NHS told to toe Government's Brexit line
NHS England and other arms-length bodies (ALBs) overseen by the Department of Health and Social Care have been warned to stick to the script when it comes to Brexit, according to a leaked DHSC memo.
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Budget squeeze forces public sector members to desert CIPR as trade body gears up for elections
The CIPR is haemorrhaging public sector comms members who cannot afford their subscriptions because of budget cuts or strains on their organisation's finances, according to senior comms figures.
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Backlash against police 'scaremongering' follows emergency 'grab bag' tweet
Police Scotland has been pilloried after tweeting a graphic of a survival kit it says people need to have ready in case of emergency.
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