News about Alastair Campbell

ALEXANDRA SHULMAN: Did I miss something? Have I been in a Sleeping Beauty-like stupor for the past six years since the 'final' Victoria's Secret fashion show, only to wake up and see the same event play out almost identically last week? There it all was: G-strings, thongs, bare bottoms with hints of pudenda, bondage corsets, ankle ties and towering heels paraded on a cavalcade of some of the world's most beautiful women. But I could have sworn that when the 2019 show was cancelled, we were awash with body positivity - i.e. don't knock yourself for being too fat - and claims it was time for women to own their bodies rather than in any way cater for the male gaze.

Officials from the New Labour era - the last time the party was in government before it crashed out of power in 2010 - have been observing from the sidelines in horror as their successors bounce from crisis to crisis. Labour's own manifesto had lamented: 'For too long, Britain has been held back by governments that, because they lack a relentless focus on long-term ends, are buffeted about by events.' But those who came before say Sir Keir's government has done just the same - and is twisting in the wind as it struggles to get a grip on power and appease the public while making unpopular decisions such as scrapping the winter fuel payment.

DAN HODGES: I did warn you Keir. Last month, as Sue Gray's disastrous tenure as chief of staff started to fracture his inner-circle I wrote: 'We all know how this ends. Alastair Campbell. Andy Coulson. Dom Cummings. When the adviser becomes the story, it's only a matter of time before they are forced out.' To the Prime Minister's credit, he did finally act. The announcement Gray has been appointed 'The Prime Minister's envoy for the Regions and Nations' is fooling no one. She's been sacked, and when an appropriate period to spare everyone blushes has passed, she will leave his Government. But that's where the plaudits for Sir Keir must end. His appointment of Sue Gray was a catastrophe, one that casts serious doubt on his personal judgment.

Gentlemen, what would you splash out on if someone gave you thousands of pounds to update your wardrobe? Something a bit more glamorous than a £50 rucksack and a pair of £85 trainers I'm guessing. A designer suit, perhaps, or a pair of handmade shoes? Not Sir Keir Starmer. Despite trousering the best part of £20,000 from millionaire Labour party donor Waheed Alli last April (£16,200 for a 'work wardrobe' plus £2,485 spent on 'multiple pairs of glasses' his register of interests reveals) Starmer remains wedded to 'normcore', a look characterised by unpretentious clothing. If you think unremarkability could be a fashion trend, Starmer has nailed it.

Sir Keir Starmer needs to sack Sue Gray. And he needs to do it quickly. In the space of six short weeks, his power-hungry Chief of Staff has driven a wedge between the Prime Minister and the Security Services, the wider civil service, his own Cabinet and other senior members of team. She has begun to construct an independent cabinet operating outside of the existing Downing Street structures. She has attempted to promote her own agenda, and her own profile. And because of this, every day Starmer waits will see his authority, and that of his fledgling administration, eroded further.

The television presenter and model, now 56, has kept the Coutts cheque as a memento of their short relationship, joking: 'It might have been nice to fill it out at some point for all the hassle he brought me'. Speaking today after a new documentary on his life emerged, Ulrika said of their 16-week dalliance: 'This was no great passionate affair. It was devoid of passion. He had all this power and money, yet he was the weakest man I have ever met'. 'I don't think he had a romantic bone in his body', she added, revealing that when not having sex they only really talked about football. They had met at a party held by Tony Blair 's spin doctor Alastair Campbell in 2002 when he former weather girl, then 34, asked for his autograph. Sven, then 54, replied in Swedish and asked for her phone number. They flew to Sven's home in Portugal for a secret holiday between England games, sitting at the front of the plane together 'giggling all the way'. 'The following morning we left for the airport together and, in the car, he put a blank cheque from Coutts in my pocket when I wasn't looking', she said. Their four-month affair ended when it broke in the press. His 'feisty' Italian girlfriend Nancy slapped him but stayed with him. Speaking about Nancy, Ulrika said: 'She should be grateful for me raising her profile.She'd have never been on Strictly Come Dancing if it wasn't for me'.

Were the Prince and Princess of Wales a little too keen when the Princess Royal returned to work? They tweeted: 'Super trooper! It was a message that Aunty Anne mightn't appreciate. A mole reports that medical advice was for the Princess Royal to rest up over the summer, the results of head injuries not always being immediately obvious - but Anne isn't noted for doing what she's told. William might have had another reason to see Anne back 'so soon'. She can share the burden of investitures.

ANDREW PIERCE: The pictures wouldn't look out of place in Country Life magazine. An ostentatious chandelier, a three-oven Aga in the flagstone-floor kitchen, while the stylish study features floor-to-ceiling custom bookcases. The £750,000 sandstone mansion, set in glorious Lanarkshire countryside, even comes with stable blocks. Welcome to the home of Morgan McSweeney - now the second most powerful man in the country. Tony Blair employed the thuggish Alastair Campbell as his chief spin doctor, while Peter (now Lord) Mandelson revelled in his nickname 'The Prince of Darkness'.

Forget the actual result, the election has thrown up all sorts of winners and losers, from Larry the Downing Street cat to JK Rowling . Here's our none-too-rigorous guide to who should be celebrating today and who should be commiserating:

Appearing on Channel 4 as part of the broadcaster's election programme, hosted by Emily Maitlis and Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Ms Dorries clashed with the former Labour spokesperson just minutes after polls closed at 10pm. The ex-culture secretary and staunch Boris Johnson loyalist said the projected results are a 'disaster' for the party, after an exit poll predicted the party would return just 131 seats. Pressed on the meteoric rise of Reform, which is projected to get 13 seats, Ms Dorriess pointed out that the far-right party was polling in the low single digits while Mr Johnson was Prime Minister. Mr Campbell then interrupted her and said: 'You really need to get over Boris.'

Here, FEMAIL reveals some of the high-profile guests in the Royal Box at Wimbledon today. Pictured: 1. Dave Grohl, 2. Jordyn Blum, 3. Andy Anson, 4. Simon Le Bon, 5. Tallulah Le Bon, 6. Sir William Blackledge Beaumont, 7. Hilary Beaumont, 8. Zadie Smith, 9. Alastair Campbell, 10. Jackie Stewart, 11. Cliff Richard, 12. Trevor McDonald

Weekend Magazine has put together a list of 50 of the best podcasts you need to listen to over summer. Some include historical podcasts such as The Last Soviet and The Prince, and crime podcasts like Vishal, The Missing Cryptoqueen and Serial.

The TV is on - but my husband Mark is fiddling with his phone and not watching. Is he texting her? I know he is having an affair because four days ago I saw an email from a woman planning dinner with him. When I confronted him, though he refused to admit her existence, my husband of 12 years said he wanted a divorce on the grounds we were 'living separate lives'. Nevertheless, here we are sitting in the same room, with the TV on, in the 'forever home' in Hertfordshire we spent eight months refurbishing. My life is in utter turmoil - we have both contacted solicitors - but I am trying desperately to keep up an appearance of normality, going to work at the offices of the magazine Good Housekeeping, where I have been editor for 18 years, and watching TV afterwards in my living room.

Like most of you I've assumed the result is a foregone conclusion. The country is sick and tired of the Tories and Starmer is a shoo-in. But then I made the mistake of watching Wednesday night's debate. Or perhaps not, because the scales not only fell from my eyes, they rolled across the living room floor and disappeared under the telly.

KEMI BADENOCH: One of my golden rules of politics is to listen carefully to Alastair Campbell - and then do the opposite. The Labour spin doctor, who's pumped out more dodgy dossiers than McDonald's has burgers, is reliably wrong about everything. And the issue on which he's been loudest for longest is the issue on which he's been mistaken the most - Brexit . After the Brexit campaign, he tweeted with all the authority of someone who once said we were only 45 minutes from Armageddon: 'If we leave, Nissan leave.' Well, not only did Nissan not leave, the car giant doubled down, last year announcing a £2 billion investment in its Sunderland car plant.

Dismayed by the news that one of Britain's greatest ever Olympians had been declared bankrupt, I had been trying all week to contact Sir Bradley Wiggins and hear his side of this sorry story. Puzzlingly, he wasn't to be found at either of the addresses in Lancashire which he gave to court. Yesterday, when the great Olympian's lawyer Alan Sellers finally contacted me, he explained the shocking reasons for this.

JK Rowling has 'thanked' Alastair Campbell showing Labour 's 'indifference' towards women's rights after he hit out at new plans by the Tories to ban post-op trans people in women-only spaces. The Harry Potter author spoke out after the former Labour spin doctor accused Conservative minister Kemi Badenoch of 'weaponising trans rights' this morning. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Campbell suggested that Ms Badenoch has more interest in 'ideology' than the general election and disparaged her by saying that the gender debate was the 'biggest issue on her agenda'. However, Ms Rowling, who has been a staunch defender of same-sex spaces and women's rights, accused the intervention by the political podcaster of 'highlighting Labour's complacency' on the topic. Ms Badenoch had been on television this morning defending the government's plans to overhaul the Equality Act which will make it clear that sex as a protected characteristic refers to biology rather than gender identity.

As Soho strip-joint gents used to say, 'and they're off!' Amid a teatime downpour Rishi Sunak came splashing out of No 10 to announce he was going to the country on July 4. An election in British summer weather. Call for the galoshes. Mr Sunak was given a drenching as he delivered a seven-minute outdoor speech which spoke of economic stability, world security and - splosh! - the Labour ideas vacuum. Not that it was easy to hear what he was saying. At the gates of Downing Street that 'Stop Brexit' protester with the loudspeaker was blaring out Alastair Campbell's old theme tune 'Things Can Only Get Better'. Make that 'wetter'.

Former Newsnight and BBC presenter Emily Maitlis will co-host the election special alongside Channel 4 news presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy. Hosts of The Rest is Politics podcast Rory Stewart and Tony Blair's former communications chief Alastair Campbell will also form part of Channel 4's team alongside stars of Gogglebox. But it was the inclusion of Crufts presenter and BBC Sports star Balding to analyse incoming data that has left many people on X/ Twitter feeling baffled as one asked is she would be sent to the paddock to check out the form of the runners. Channel 4's early announcement shows a move away from its previous offering of an 'Alternative Election Night' featuring comedians after viewers slated 2019's coverage.

ROSS CLARK: There are still some Remainers who think that the British people were hoodwinked into voting for Brexit by what Alastair Campbell called a 'great fat lie' painted on the side of the Vote Leave campaign bus. In fact, few slogans in political history can have caused as much anger as 'We send the EU £350million a week - let's fund our NHS instead.' The head of the UK Statistics Authority, Sir David Norgrove, complained that it was 'a clear misuse of official statistics'. Then Tory MP Sarah Wollaston defected to the Remain camp over it, saying she would never join a battle bus 'that has at the heart of its campaign a figure that I know to be untrue'. It even inspired a crowdfunded, unsuccessful campaign for a private prosecution against Boris Johnson for 'misconduct in public office'.

HARDCASTLE: One of the pleasures of being included in the Honours Lists - having a gong bestowed by a Royal Family member - could be a rare occurrence. With the King and the Princess of Wales out of action, a labour shortage has resulted in Lord Lieutenants' drafting to divide the burden. Lord Lieutenant Andrew Tryckish of Berkshire made his first appearance dispensing awards on Sunday. The MBE's recess, who are looking forward to either William or Anne, should have been deflated.

With the results pointing to a Tory wipeout at the election, Sir Keir Starmer's inner circle should be buoyant and focused. However, this is the Labour Party, where feuding and backstabbing are second nature, and the possibility of imminent power is only making it worse. Tony Blair's staff became embroiled in a tumultuous mix of sniping, briefing, and plotting as they vied for pre-eminence in King Tony's courthouse in 1997. As Blair prepared to enter Downing Street , he despaired over the 'titanic feud' between Mandelson and Brown in particular: the then Labour leader would repeatedly ask: 'Why, oh why, can't my two best people get on with each other?' It's now Back to the Future as Blair, Mandelson, and Campbell all flock to Sir Keir, and the rats step up the combat in the sack.

Today, Keir Starmer and Tony Blair were among a group of the Labour elite gathered to say their goodbyes to Derek Draper. The former Prime Minister and former Prime Minister were among those attending the funeral for the New Labour stalwart. Ed Miliband, Ed Balls, Lord Mandelson, and Alastair Campbell, who all worked closely with Mr Draper during the Blair period, were all on hand to pay their respects. Kate Garraway, the wife of Mr Draper, was gathered at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Primrose Hill with family and friends. He died last month at the age of 56, after years of fighting Covid's effects.

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: If the Duke and Duchess of York's decision to remarry were to dither and announce their decision to remarry, the King has made it much simpler for them. Charles has told Andrew and Fergie that he will have his blessing, according to a source. Although Andrew no longer needs the King's permission to marry (only the first six in line do), the HM's endorsement is nonetheless important to the beleaguered Duke.