David Hill to fill Campbell’s boots
David Hill is set to remodel New Labour’s communications department following the resignation of the PM’s closest aide Alastair Campbell.
Mr Campbell’s future as head of Mr Blair’s “spin machine” was imperilled by the recent controversy surrounding the Government’s alleged interference in the intelligence reports on Iraq’s capacity to launch lethal weapons.
Mr Hill has worked closely with Roy Hattersley and Neil Kinnock on reforming and modernising the Labour Party. The former communications chief has a wealth of experience to rely on.
The 55-year-old headed the Labour Press office from 1991 to 1998, before becoming a director of the PR firm Good Relations.
Mr Hill returned to the fray to help with Labour’s 2001 election campaign.
His aggressive blunt style prompted one Labour MP to describe him as Alastair Campbell “mark two.”
Mr Hill is expected to take up the posts within four to five weeks.
In his resignation statement, Mr Campbell, in true British political fashion, said he wanted to spend more time with his family.
Back in April, Mr Blair had accepted Mr Campbell’s resignation, planned for the summer, but asked Mr Campbell to stay on and help with the Iraq crisis.
Mr Campbell said: “There are huge upsides in a position like this – the people, the events and places that you encounter and experience; the feeling that you are able to make a difference; the knowledge that you are witnessing history in the making. But there are downsides too and these are mostly borne by your family.”
“I look back with pride and satisfaction at the role I have been able to play in helping to modernise the Labour Party, in helping the Party secure two great election victories and, more important, in the help I have given the Prime Minister and other Ministers in making the historic changes the Government has made to our economy, our society, and Britain’s role in the world.
“Politics, to me, has always been about having an affirmative agenda for changing your country, and the lives of its people, for the better.
“This Government has a lot to be proud of. The Minimum Wage. The New Deal. The attack on child poverty. The constitutional changes that have strengthened the UK. Progress in Northern Ireland. Investment and reform leading to better schools and better hospitals. The leadership Britain has shown overseas. I am honoured to have been part of that process of change,” he said.
Mr Campbell’s partner, Fiona Millar, is also leaving Downing Street where she was an assistant to Tony Blair’s wife Cherie.
Conservative MP David Davis said the new appointment would not change the ethos of Downing Street.
“The real driving force behind the culture of spin at the heart of this Government is Tony Blair,” he said.
