Dame Ann Sindall DBE was Boris Johnson's secretary or personal assistant while he was editor of The Spectator and Mayor of London. [1] She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in Johnson's Resignation Honours, announced on 9 June 2023, for political and public service. [2] [3] Robert Peston tweeted that "The most interesting Johnson honour is the dame-hood for Ann Sindall, his loyal assistant for decades and who probably knows the former prime minister better than almost anyone". [4]
Sonia Purnell, in her 2012 book Just Boris: A Tale of Blond Ambition, describes Sindall's role as Johnson's secretary at The Spectator. She is said to have been described as "almost a pantomime Northerner ... like Boris is a pantomime toff". [5] Purnell describes Sindall as "redoubtable, crop-haired ... with her crisp Northern humour and 'socialist' tendencies", and quotes a colleague as saying that she ran the Spectator office "with the implacable demeanour of a headmistress trained by the SAS". [5] She had a Jack Russell Terrier called Harry which accompanied her to the office. [5]
In November 2022 Sindall became the director of The Office of Boris Johnson Ltd, succeeding Shelley Williams-Walker. [6] [7]
Sindall is from Batley, West Yorkshire. [5]