Regards, Ivan
Posted on 02/08/2005 2:35:38 AM PST by MadIvan
Alastair Campbell is at the centre of a row after an obscene outburst aimed at BBC journalists.
(It was about ads produced by the Labour Party) They showed Tory leader Michael Howard as "Fagin" and as a flying pig and were branded anti-Semitic before being withdrawn. After Newsnight the BBC's flagship current affairs programme, followed up the story they received the email apparently written in a fury by Mr Campbell.
The message by the former spin chief and now election strategy supremo was littered with grammatical and punctuation errors. It referred to Trevor Beattie, the head of advertising agency TBWA. It read: "Just spoke to trev. think tbwa shd give statement to newsnight saying party and agency work together well and nobody here has spoken to standard.
"Posters done by tbwa according to polotical (sic) brief. Now f*** off and cover something important you t***s!" Mr Campbell's blunder came after signs of panic in Labour over the poster storm. And his behaviour raised the possiblity that Mr Campbell, who resigned from No 10 after he became "the story", was once again becoming the focus of controversy.
A Newsnight insider said there had been astonishment when Mr Campbell's email arrived. "We thought he had gone bonkers," he said.
Mr Campbell's former deputy Tim Allan defended him last night as an asset to the party.
But he admitted: "Judging by his email, it is time to disengage the Blackberry (a handset for sending and receiving emails) and re-engage the brain."
The email row comes after a fortnight of mounting controversy over the posters, which were withdrawn after Labour was deluged with complaints from its own supporters.
Senior members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews plus a longstanding and generous Jewish donor to the party, Sir Sigmund Sternberg, made complaints.
A Labour spokesman confirmed that Mr Campbell was the author of the email and said it was sent to the BBC by mistake.
He said: "Newsnight emailed Alastair and he thought it was an email from someone else and responded directly.
"He sent a second email as soon as he realised he had sent it to Newsnight saying he was sorry."
Mr Campbell's subsequent email suggested the matter should be ignored as a joke, and implied that Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman would agree.
It read: "Not very good at this email Blackberry malarkey. Just looked at log, have realised email meant for colleagues at TBWA was sent to you.
"Final sentence of earlier email probably a bit colourful and personal considering we have never actually met but I'm sure you share the same sense of humour as your star presenter Mr P."
Mr Campbell's confusion may have arisen because the exchange was prompted by an email from a Newsnight staffer called Andrew McFadyen.
It is possible that the spin doctor thought he was replying to a message from Pat McFadden, a senior aide to the Prime Minister. The row will put intense new pressure on Labour to explain exactly who devised the shocking posters and how they were produced. Mr Campbell's phrase "according to a political brief " suggests that the posters were, indeed, concocted at Labour headquarters and that TBWA merely produced the final artwork.
Mr Campbell's claim that the Evening Standard did not speak to the agency is not true.
A reporter spoke to both TBWA and the Labour Party and took statements from spokesmen for each.
The Evening Standard rang TBWA five times yesterday and was referred to a spokeswoman.
The spokeswoman's comments were double-checked with her and she insisted she spoke on behalf of the agency.
She also referred us to the Labour Party.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
A rare slip-up for the Prince of Darkness. Whatever next?
Actually Peter Mandelson is the Prince of Darkness. Alistair Campbell is more like the Earl of Spitballs.
Regards, Ivan
When will people learn that emailing information that is supposed to be private is a bad idea. Any techy worth his salt will be able to intercept it.
He definitely should not have a Blackberry. While I admire his disdain for the BBC, I can't say the same for his spelling or good sense.
Regards, Ivan
I'm more scared of Campbell than Mandelson. Hartlepool's finest is way past his best these days, hence the fact that he's shackled himself to the EU gravy train.
It's such a surprise to see Campbell screwing up in such a basic way. Mind you, I have no doubt he'll exact a terrible revenge for this. Expect some 'child porn' to turn up on the laptop of the poor bastard who reported this!
Scary man, scary man.
Campbell is scary, but he needs to do little, really. Labour is going to win the next election. My concern is who will succeed Blair. If it's Milburn, we'll stick to the status quo. If it's Gordo, we have problems.
Regards, Ivan
I've got £10 on Jack 'Man Of' Straw, actually. I got 12-1 about six months ago. I see him being the anti-Brown, Not-Milburn candidate that inevitably emerges.
Jack Straw: The New John Major!
Interesting idea. Then perhaps he can lead Labour to an electoral disaster that will keep them out of power for 12 years.
Regards, Ivan
We can only hope!
Absolutely shocking. I never knew there was a word t***s. I can't imagine what it is.
It is a very naughty word. I could mail it you if you want.
turtles?
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