News about Alastair Campbell

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.

RICHARD EDEN: The MCC was painfully disadvantaged last summer when scores of its members were caught accusing Australian batsmen to volleys of abuse on the final day of the Lord's Test, although apparently synonymous with fair play and gentlemanly conduct. The club's committee later dismissed one miscreant and suspended two others, but if it thought its reasons were spurring, it has been forced to reconsider after being bowled a bouncer by disaffected traditionalists who were nauseated both by the committee's obsession with political correctness and its autocratic demeanor. No fewer than 180 MCC demonstrators have compelled the club to prepare for a special General Meeting in which a vote would be held to elect a successor to the club's chairman, which would result in a 'fully democratic process.'

'I was so lucky to have you in my life,' Kate wrote on Instagram this morning.'

'I'm so lucky to have you in my life,' the Good Morning Britain host, 56, revealed on Instagram this morning.' Following a long war with Covid, Derek sustained a heart attack before Christmas. This week, the atmosphere in ITV's daytime studios was said to be 'gloomy,' as Kate's co-stars learned of Derek's death. Kate's best friend told the Mail: "She's doing well, she's keeping up, and she's being proactive for her children."

Mr Draper, who died of long-term coronavirus, was married to television presenter Kate Garraway, and was one of Britain's most prominent media couples. Sir Tony was one of the leading New Labour figures to pay tributes to Mr Draper, who served with Blairite Lord Mandelson and established the Progress group with Liam Byrne, who went on to become an MP. He called him a "tough, sometimes ruthless strategist" and a "brilliant advisor," but he also said he was a "loving, compassionate, and good natured man." Gordon Brown, another former Prime Minister, wrote on social media: "So sad that after such a long fight, Derek Draper has lost his life as a result of Covid'.' 'I will remember him as brilliant, inventive, and multitalented,' and our thoughts are with Kate, Darcey, and Billy.' Mr Draper was 'a big character,' according to Alastair Campbell, a fellow influential New Labour figure of the 1990s. Mr Draper (left); with Labour colleagues Neil Kinnock, John Prescott, and Peter Mandelson in the early 1990s (top right); with his wife during her time on I'm a Celebrity in 2019.

According to the National Archives papers, Jeremy Heywood, the prime minister's private secretary, warned him that his own power was being jeopardized because Downing Street was seen as a 'politically dominated spin machine.' The alerts came after a string of bruising discussions between Labour and the BBC over its coverage of the US-UK invasion of Iraq in 2003. Following Mr Campbell's resignation after nine years as one of Mr Blair's most trusted employees, Mr Heywood urged the PM to undertake a complete overhaul of the No10 Press operation.

DAN HODGES: The directors opted for a nightmarish - unless your name is Peter Mandelson or Alastair Campbell - as the lauded royal biopic The Crown pushed toward its denouement last week. Queen Elizabeth is seen strolling unnoticed through London streets as her former subjects joyfully mourn her enforced resignation and brace for King Tony Blair's coronation. When our all-power New Labour monarch rises from his throne, a stony-faced Prince Charles gritting his teeth, the choir of Westminster Abbey regales him with a heavenly saying of Things Can Only Get Better. The whole thing turns out to be nothing more than a frenzied dream. However, if those Tory MPs determined on unseating Rishi Sunak and destroying his Rwanda scheme, it could be a welcome glimpse into Britain's political future. The Prime Minister displayed his resistance on Tuesday and secured a second reading of the Safety of Rwanda Bill.

Baroness Glennock, a former minister, MEP, and wife of ex-Labour leader Lord Kinnock, has died. The 79-year-old, who served as MEP for Wales from 1994 to 2009, died six years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, has been paid tribute. Her family recalled the 'cherished mother and adored grandmother' who died peacefully in her sleep on Sunday at her London home with her husband at her side, in a tweet. According to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, the world had lost a 'incredibly smart, brave, tenacious, and resolute' woman who, along with her husband, was the 'life and soul of any gathering.' Sir Keir Starmer, Labour leader, said she was a "passionate lifelong campaigner for social justice" who had 'the most rewarding relationship' with her husband, although former party spin doctor Alastair Campbell called her a "formidable political power in her own right."

At the Liverpool affair, the two Remainers lead a movement by pressuring Labour 4 Europe to hold a debate and vote on extending closer ties with Brussels. Despite the fact that two main beasts of Labour politics were on social media videos urging party members to allow the debate to continue. Sir Keir has been fighting to keep a lid on the party's internal divisions, assuaging the pro-EU wings' assertion that if the party wins, it will seek to resurrect the single market or customs union if it wins power. However, shadow foreign minister David Lammy told the conference that strengthening the contact with the EU would be a 'priority' for a Labour government.

ANDREW PIERCE: Davey served as the country's sub-postmasters became the victims of a monstrous injustice from 2010 to 2012. Hundreds of sub-postmasters were blamed by the Post Office for unexplained financial losses in their accounts, when the problems were actually caused by hardware in the Horizon IT accounting software that it had installed in the 1990s. The repercussions were devastating. The Horizon scandal, which has been described as 'the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history,' has resulted in over 700 Post Office workers being arrested for theft, mismanagement, and mistrust between 1999 and 2015, an average of almost one per week.

CRAIG BROWN: As he describes himself on his website, Alastair Campbell - 'communicator, writer, strategist,' wrote about his burgeoning relationship with Russell Brand. Campbell advised Brand to follow his example and avoid the newspapers: 'Once I stopped giving a damn damn what they said, it was liberating,' he said.'

It shocked not only the United Kingdom but also the world. And so what's the nation's memory is firmly held on today, 26 years old. We republish Jonathan Mayo's powerful reconstruction of 31 August 1997 as seen through the eyes of royals, politicians, Diana's family and friends, and the mourning public. It was a day that started in the small hours with a high-speed car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel under the Seine in Paris. It was not long before the horrific news reached those closest to her.

BRENDAN O'NEILL: There's awoke segment of the Establishment that actually believes it is infallible. Even after getting it wrong, the corporation persists assuming its impeccable and virtuous reputation. Worse, this privileged cabal does everything possible to scupper news stories that it finds inconvenient or embarrassing.

GLEN OWEN: Dr. David Kelly (centre) was seen alive for the last time when he left his Oxfordshire home for the last time on a sunny afternoon walk. His apparent suicide, a week after Tony Blair's administration's leadership's claim that a No 10 dossier on Saddam Hussein's weapons capability had been'sexed up' to justify the Iraqi war, brought the Prime Minister to the brink of political domination. Mr Blair's life was effectively fixed by his Praetorian Guard, including Peter Mandelson, Alastair Campbell, and Lord Falconer, who are all considered influential figures in the run-up to Sir Keir Starmer's emergence as the government's new Labour government.

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: In a GB News rant, Burrell squeaks: 'What gives him the right to make a claim in a court of law about me that's defamatory, that's untrue? 'I'm able to go further because my image is at stake.'

DAN HODGES: The actor has found that pulling the wool over the electorate's eyes has been the most successful of his career. The only thing is determining which segment of the population it is attacking is which is determined by the sex of the electorate. Talk to Starmer's allies, who insist that this is simply smart politics. One Shadow Minister told me, 'Keir's just being prudent.' He isn't going to give the Tories a straightforward target.' He's aware that he will be more progressive in government than he can in opposition.' It's a neat review. However, Labour MPs' prudence is deceitful.

STEPHEN GLOVER: According to one recent survey, only 9 percent of Britons now think Brexit is more of a success than a failure. Some 62% of respondents described it as more of a disappointment, including many first-time Leave voters. It's likely that if a new Labour government were to ease this country back into the EU single market and even into the European Union itself, it would face with little resistance. May I dissent? I don't think Brexit has been a massive success - one would have to be certifying that to believe it. It's just that I'm struggling to find any evidence that Brexit is the self-inflicted disaster that so many people believe.

After receiving the court's findings regarding whether he deceived Parliament, former Prime Minister Harriet Harman was charged with supervising a 'kangaroo court.' Since the investigation was announced last summer, allies of Mr Johnson, who did not rule out a return to Parliament, have been calling for the investigation to be cancelled. The committee's independence has been questioned. Mr Johnson has deceived the Commons, according to Ms Harman, the former prime minister of Blairite. Former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell's blog said that the then Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak 'broke their own emergency legislation.' They lied. Repeatedly. The ministerial code was demolished, according to the researchers.'

STEPHEN GLOVER: That Britain is the "sick man of Europe" is an article of faith among our most enlightened thinkers and publications. It is reported in the anti-Brexit Financial Times and Economist magazine. If a claim is made, the BBC eagerly circulates it. Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed it as fact. Many of those who believe we are the sick man of Europe blame Brexit. Former deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine and former Labor spin doctor Alastair Campbell have both stated that Brexit is a financial disaster, as if this is insignificant. Brexiteers may be tempted to believe them because they are so persistent and pervasive. I've certainly been engulfed in the gloom, and half of us have embraced the common belief that this country is on the skids and Brexit was a horrific disappointment.