Rishi Sunak's communications chief Amber de Botton leaves No 10

The PM's director of communications, Amber de Botton, has resigned 10 months after taking the job, saying it was "the right time to move on".

Announcing her decision on social media, she said it had been "an honour and privilege" to do the job, and thanked Rishi Sunak for his "support and leadership".

Ms de Botton left her job as an ITV News journalist to join No 10.

The PM's current press secretary, Nerissa Chesterfield, will replace her.

Ms Chesterfield worked at the free-market think tank, the Institute of Economic Affairs, before being hired by Mr Sunak to join his communications team in the Treasury early in his tenure as chancellor in 2020.

Ms de Botton began her role in Downing Street, a few days after Mr Sunak became prime minister.

Praising her former boss, she said: "The team he has built around him is dedicated and focused because those are the qualities he inspires.

"I also want to thank my colleagues - No10 is a demanding and high pressure place to work - yet the professionalism and talent they display every day is exceptional."

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Before joining Downing Street, Ms de Botton worked as head of politics at ITV and deputy head of politics at Sky News.

The prime minister has thanked her "for all her hard work" and "calm professionalism".

"She brought with her top-level journalistic and management experience that has been invaluable," he said.

Amber de Botton leaving is a classic of a very particular kind of Westminster news story - Person leaves a job you didn't know they had.

But Westminster is full of important and powerful people - or more accurately important and powerful jobs - occupied by folk who are not public figures in and of themselves.

The No10 director of communications is a vital role at the heart of government - talking to senior journalists daily, and often more frequently than that - attempting to explain what the government in general and the prime minister in particular is doing, and why.

Talking up what they see as triumphs and putting the best gloss they can on cock-ups, catastrophes and calamities.

They help define the tone and tenor of the prime minister's public image.

Amber de Botton was a long standing and highly regarded journalist - at Westminster and beyond - before being hired by Rishi Sunak.

She brought to Downing Street particular knowledge of how television news works.

But unlike her successor Nerissa Chesterfield, she hadn't been alongside Mr Sunak as he rapidly climbed the Westminster ladder, nor had she been through his first failed attempt to become prime minister, when he was beaten by Liz Truss.

People don't tend to take jobs at the top of politics with job security a priority and there are personal reasons that have contributed to Amber de Botton leaving now.

I have been BBC Political Editor for less than 18 months, and I am on to my fourth Downing Street director of communications.

Ms de Botton's departure comes a comes a day after Mr Sunak carried out a mini-reshuffle of his cabinet following the departure of Defence Secretary Ben Wallace from frontline politics.

Grant Shapps replaced him, with Claire Coutinho taking his old job of energy security and net zero secretary.

Meanwhile, UK Music chief executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin is stepping down from his role after three years to become the prime minister's new director of strategy.

Mr Njoku-Goodwin has previously held a number of roles within government, including acting as an adviser to former minister Matt Hancock and at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.