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| How Damian McBride's spin almost cost me my job | How Damian McBride's spin almost cost me my job |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| At least I have the dubious pleasure of knowing that Damian McBride's betrayal of government secrets, which resulted in my name being splashed across the Sunday Times, was at the top of even his long list of shameful acts. The incident is what he calls his first proper dirty story, leaving him up to his elbows in mud in his current warts-and-more-warts confessional book. Better late than never, I suppose. It's good to see that he is finally confessing to his part in the worst weekend of my professional career. | At least I have the dubious pleasure of knowing that Damian McBride's betrayal of government secrets, which resulted in my name being splashed across the Sunday Times, was at the top of even his long list of shameful acts. The incident is what he calls his first proper dirty story, leaving him up to his elbows in mud in his current warts-and-more-warts confessional book. Better late than never, I suppose. It's good to see that he is finally confessing to his part in the worst weekend of my professional career. |
| With similar spectacular timing to his latest salvo, it was the eve of the Labour party conference in 2004. I was director of communications at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), working for the secretary of state and close Blair ally, Tessa Jowell. The atmosphere at that September meeting of communications chiefs was good. There was a new head of overall government communications, the popular and experienced Howell James. There had been some bruising times – there often are in government – and Alastair Campbell had stood down as Tony Blair's long-serving right hand man and media guru. In his place was another much admired and steady pair of hands, the veteran Labour press man, David Hill. The meeting was to plan for the years ahead, to work together and share confidences with utterly trustworthy colleagues. Or so we thought … | With similar spectacular timing to his latest salvo, it was the eve of the Labour party conference in 2004. I was director of communications at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), working for the secretary of state and close Blair ally, Tessa Jowell. The atmosphere at that September meeting of communications chiefs was good. There was a new head of overall government communications, the popular and experienced Howell James. There had been some bruising times – there often are in government – and Alastair Campbell had stood down as Tony Blair's long-serving right hand man and media guru. In his place was another much admired and steady pair of hands, the veteran Labour press man, David Hill. The meeting was to plan for the years ahead, to work together and share confidences with utterly trustworthy colleagues. Or so we thought … |
| Hill was meant to attend the Thursday night session for a frank exchange of views on how departments and No 10 could work more efficiently together but couldn't at the last minute, so we went ahead and had the session anyway. Every organisation needs to be able to have frank exchanges of views among its senior teams. Which we duly did. | Hill was meant to attend the Thursday night session for a frank exchange of views on how departments and No 10 could work more efficiently together but couldn't at the last minute, so we went ahead and had the session anyway. Every organisation needs to be able to have frank exchanges of views among its senior teams. Which we duly did. |
| McBride disappeared on Friday and no one shed any tears. On Saturday lunchtime, my heart sank as the DCMS duty press officer explained that I was a large part of the front page splash in the Sunday Times. McBride had selected Tony Blair's three closest cabinet allies – Tessa Jowell, John Reid and David Blunkett – and had quoted extensively from me and my colleagues from the Home Office and Department of Health. Selective use of quotes made the points more trenchant, but there was no denying I had said some not altogether complimentary things. | McBride disappeared on Friday and no one shed any tears. On Saturday lunchtime, my heart sank as the DCMS duty press officer explained that I was a large part of the front page splash in the Sunday Times. McBride had selected Tony Blair's three closest cabinet allies – Tessa Jowell, John Reid and David Blunkett – and had quoted extensively from me and my colleagues from the Home Office and Department of Health. Selective use of quotes made the points more trenchant, but there was no denying I had said some not altogether complimentary things. |
| Oh Christ. If you are the comms person, you never, ever want to be the story. Let alone part of a front page story appearing to slag off head office. Just as your boss is away with all of her colleagues from head office, in a pretty febrile atmosphere where stories tend to take hold and run and run. Politicians are often a bit wary of civil servants and this seemed to confirm their very worst suspicions. I honestly thought this might mean the end of my time at DCMS. And possibly in government communications, a job I really loved. | Oh Christ. If you are the comms person, you never, ever want to be the story. Let alone part of a front page story appearing to slag off head office. Just as your boss is away with all of her colleagues from head office, in a pretty febrile atmosphere where stories tend to take hold and run and run. Politicians are often a bit wary of civil servants and this seemed to confirm their very worst suspicions. I honestly thought this might mean the end of my time at DCMS. And possibly in government communications, a job I really loved. |
| I tried to ring McBride. For once he was surprisingly unresponsive. I was extremely lucky that Tessa Jowell understood straight away what was going on, as did David Hill. They already had wind of it at the Labour party conference. She was fantastically understanding and supportive. But it might not have been like that. Certainly, as Damian so forthrightly says, he didn't give a monkeys whether it was or not. | I tried to ring McBride. For once he was surprisingly unresponsive. I was extremely lucky that Tessa Jowell understood straight away what was going on, as did David Hill. They already had wind of it at the Labour party conference. She was fantastically understanding and supportive. But it might not have been like that. Certainly, as Damian so forthrightly says, he didn't give a monkeys whether it was or not. |
| The thing that really staggers me about the McBride account, is that he actually thought he was unlikely to be a suspect. Everyone knew immediately that it was him. "To whom the good" is always a good question when you want to know where a story comes from. Little doubt that the Brown camp thought they were inflicting damage on the prime minister with the leak. | The thing that really staggers me about the McBride account, is that he actually thought he was unlikely to be a suspect. Everyone knew immediately that it was him. "To whom the good" is always a good question when you want to know where a story comes from. Little doubt that the Brown camp thought they were inflicting damage on the prime minister with the leak. |
| The Special Branch inquiry which ensued was thorough and impressive. By far the most shocking thing was that McBride was a civil servant at the time, acting in a highly political and thoroughly reprehensible manner. The subsequent failure of the civil service to sack him allowed him to carry on spreading his poison through Whitehall for a further five years. Unbelievably, he moved to No 10 with Gordon Brown. It came as little surprise to all those who had known his modus operandi, much emboldened after years of being given free rein, that he finally got caught trying to orchestrate smear campaigns from within the hallowed doors of the centre of our democratic government. | The Special Branch inquiry which ensued was thorough and impressive. By far the most shocking thing was that McBride was a civil servant at the time, acting in a highly political and thoroughly reprehensible manner. The subsequent failure of the civil service to sack him allowed him to carry on spreading his poison through Whitehall for a further five years. Unbelievably, he moved to No 10 with Gordon Brown. It came as little surprise to all those who had known his modus operandi, much emboldened after years of being given free rein, that he finally got caught trying to orchestrate smear campaigns from within the hallowed doors of the centre of our democratic government. |
| So, no thanks to Damian McBride, I carried on working in government communications and left of my own accord, just as London was awarded the 2012 Olympics. And even though educated as a Catholic at the sister school to McBride's former employer, Finchley Catholic High, I am still finding the reformed sinner line just a bit difficult to swallow. | So, no thanks to Damian McBride, I carried on working in government communications and left of my own accord, just as London was awarded the 2012 Olympics. And even though educated as a Catholic at the sister school to McBride's former employer, Finchley Catholic High, I am still finding the reformed sinner line just a bit difficult to swallow. |
| • This article was amended on 23 September 2013. It originally referred to Finchley Catholic High as Damian McBride's current employer. This has now been corrected. | |
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