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Westminster Diary Westminster Diary
(41 minutes later)
Welcome to our round-up of snippets from the corridors of power.Welcome to our round-up of snippets from the corridors of power.
SPIN DOCTOR HEAL THYSELF?SPIN DOCTOR HEAL THYSELF?
"That kind of personality-based dirty work is very difficult to pull off properly. It is in danger of backfiring and not just because it might leak as a document.""That kind of personality-based dirty work is very difficult to pull off properly. It is in danger of backfiring and not just because it might leak as a document."
Wise words. But who is the media-savvy model of rectitude behind them? Well, since you ask, it's Derek Draper, speaking to Marketing Week magazine more than nine years ago.Wise words. But who is the media-savvy model of rectitude behind them? Well, since you ask, it's Derek Draper, speaking to Marketing Week magazine more than nine years ago.
Mr Draper is currently lying low after apologising for his role in the Downing Street e-mail smear plot.Mr Draper is currently lying low after apologising for his role in the Downing Street e-mail smear plot.
But in February 2000 he had only recently been defrocked as a spin doctor and was eager to impress in his new, and in the event short-lived, career in advertising.But in February 2000 he had only recently been defrocked as a spin doctor and was eager to impress in his new, and in the event short-lived, career in advertising.
Derek Draper: Brief advertising careerDerek Draper: Brief advertising career
He was asked to give his view on an alleged plot by ad agency M&C Saatchi to smear the then health minister Tessa Jowell on behalf of the agency's client, tobacco giant Gallaher.He was asked to give his view on an alleged plot by ad agency M&C Saatchi to smear the then health minister Tessa Jowell on behalf of the agency's client, tobacco giant Gallaher.
The agency's alleged plan to "undermine" Ms Jowell by branding her "undemocratic and rash" over her stance on smoking never made it beyond the brainstorming stage.The agency's alleged plan to "undermine" Ms Jowell by branding her "undemocratic and rash" over her stance on smoking never made it beyond the brainstorming stage.
But Mr Draper told Marketing Week he was surprised a big agency like M&C would even go near such an "old-style dirty tricks campaign" in the first place.But Mr Draper told Marketing Week he was surprised a big agency like M&C would even go near such an "old-style dirty tricks campaign" in the first place.
And he added, reassuringly: "In my experience it doesn't happen very often - if at all. It is probably a symptom of how desperate the tobacco companies are." Quite.And he added, reassuringly: "In my experience it doesn't happen very often - if at all. It is probably a symptom of how desperate the tobacco companies are." Quite.
ANGER MANAGEMENTANGER MANAGEMENT
"Unsourced nonsense" of the kind you would expect from a Sunday newspaper, was how Downing Street dismissed reports that Gordon Brown had - in scenes reminiscent of hilarious new film In The Loop - thrown a laser printer off a desk in a fit of rage. The strange thing is the story appeared on the normally very well sourced financial wire service Bloomberg. The piece also quotes an unnamed Downing Street staffer describing how a colleague developed a technique called a "news sandwich" - "first telling the prime minister about a recent piece of good coverage before delivering bad news, and then moving quickly to tell him about something good coming soon". "Unsourced nonsense" of the kind you would expect from a Sunday newspaper was how Downing Street dismissed reports that Gordon Brown had - in scenes reminiscent of hilarious new film In The Loop - thrown a laser printer off a desk in a fit of rage. The strange thing is the story appeared on the normally very well sourced financial wire service Bloomberg. The piece also quotes an unnamed Downing Street staffer describing how a colleague developed a technique called a "news sandwich" - "first telling the prime minister about a recent piece of good coverage before delivering bad news, and then moving quickly to tell him about something good coming soon".
A COLD DAY IN HULL Dean Windass: Hull legendA COLD DAY IN HULL Dean Windass: Hull legend
They say the Budget is a good day to bury bad news, but were the people of Hull ready for this body blow? A petition - signed by 586 people - on the Downing Street website for the prime minister to erect a statue to veteran Hull City striker Dean Windass was rejected. It was one of a whole slew of petition responses released on Wednesday and comes on top of rejected petitions for Windass to be given an MBE and a knighthood. Time to give it up, boys...They say the Budget is a good day to bury bad news, but were the people of Hull ready for this body blow? A petition - signed by 586 people - on the Downing Street website for the prime minister to erect a statue to veteran Hull City striker Dean Windass was rejected. It was one of a whole slew of petition responses released on Wednesday and comes on top of rejected petitions for Windass to be given an MBE and a knighthood. Time to give it up, boys...
FINANCIAL NEWSFINANCIAL NEWS
The government has launched an interactive guide to financial jargon for anyone left a bit puzzled by what Chancellor Alistair Darling had to say in Wednesday's Budget. "What does all this Budget talk really mean?" asks the Moneyspeak application, which can be added to your Facebook page. Let's type in a few search terms and try it out. Car scrappage. Great! You get money off for your old car. Investment - some useful stuff there. Let's try another one. Borrowing. "Sorry, we can't help you with your inquiry...." Can't be all that important then.The government has launched an interactive guide to financial jargon for anyone left a bit puzzled by what Chancellor Alistair Darling had to say in Wednesday's Budget. "What does all this Budget talk really mean?" asks the Moneyspeak application, which can be added to your Facebook page. Let's type in a few search terms and try it out. Car scrappage. Great! You get money off for your old car. Investment - some useful stuff there. Let's try another one. Borrowing. "Sorry, we can't help you with your inquiry...." Can't be all that important then.
VIRTUALLY INDEPENDENT?VIRTUALLY INDEPENDENT?
The government has been told by a Tory peer to uphold the independence of the new Supreme Court - by changing its e-mail address. "Bearing in mind the need for the Supreme Court to be seen to be independent of government, wouldn't it be more appropriate for the word 'gov' to not appear in the email address of the new court?," asked Lord Henley. Justice minister Lord Bach replied: "The court will be physically separate from Parliament which will demonstrate more clearly than anything else its status as an important and independent core institution.''The government has been told by a Tory peer to uphold the independence of the new Supreme Court - by changing its e-mail address. "Bearing in mind the need for the Supreme Court to be seen to be independent of government, wouldn't it be more appropriate for the word 'gov' to not appear in the email address of the new court?," asked Lord Henley. Justice minister Lord Bach replied: "The court will be physically separate from Parliament which will demonstrate more clearly than anything else its status as an important and independent core institution.''
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