First pictures released of Boris Johnson's new £2.6m briefing room

No 10 intends the studio, hosted by Allegra Stratton, to be focal point of new media strategy

After 2.6m and a seven-month wait, the curtains have finally opened on a studio based inside Downing Street where the prime minister's press secretary will address the nation in new White House-style TV briefings.

The first glimpses of the room revealed by ITV showed the podium that Allegra Stratton, a former BBC and Guardian journalist who also worked as communications director for the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, will stand behind as she fields questions from journalists.