Campbell’s days are numbered, BBC claims
The BBC is running a story suggesting Alastair Campbell’s days are numbered as No 10’s director of communications.
Nick Assinder, BBC News Online political correspondent, building on speculation from political editor Andrew Marr, said it was now “pretty certain” that Mr Campbell will imminently leave Mr Blair’s side given that he has “formally told his boss and best friend of his decision.”
Mr Marr forecasted a new tone and mood would pervade Downing Street’s press office by August.
Mr. Marr said: “I am pretty sure now that Alastair Campbell has decided that he is going to leave Downing Street. He has told Tony Blair that. They have had a discussion about it.
“There had been a thought that he would go very soon to try and get some early closure from this. Perhaps even within the next few days.
“But they have discussed this and it looks much more likely now that Alastair Campbell will stay on, in Downing Street’s words, until he goes at the time of his choosing and in a manner that demonstrates that he has done nothing wrong.
“That means really the end of August, into the Autumn, depending on how long the Hutton Inquiry takes to report.”
Downing Street has reportedly dismissed the story as ‘wishful thinking’.
Mr Campbell’s future as head of Mr Blair’s “spin machine” has been imperilled by the recent controversy surrounding the Government’s alleged interference in the intelligence reports on Iraq’s capacity to launch lethal weapons.
The BBC alleges the Government introduced a clause into an Iraq weapons dossier which stated Saddam Hussein could launch weapons of mass destruction “within 45-minutes.”
Mr Campbell was accused of directly interfering with the intelligence report in order to strengthen the case for war against Iraq.
But after the story broke on the so-called “sexed up” dossier allegations, leaked by a “mole” at the MoD to the BBC’s Andrew Gilligan, Mr Campbell broke the fundamental axiom of spin doctoring – don’t become the news.
Extraordinarily on the 27th of June, he stormed the Channel Four News studios demanding the right to be heard. Jon Snow obliged and saw Mr Campbell launch a tirade against the BBC, claiming the corporation’s standards are “debased beyond belief.” He denied having a personal vendetta against Mr Gilligan.
Like all adept spinmeister’s he soon slipped from the media’s critical gaze.
The BBC claims follow the tragic death last week of Dr David Kelly, the Iraq weapons expert, believed to the “source” of the corporation’s story.
