Reports of Campbell departure ‘wishful thinking’

REPORTS that British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s chief spin doctor Alastair Campbell is to quit have been dismissed by Downing Street as “wishful thinking”.

The claim by the BBC’s political editor Andrew Marr has prompted a new war of words between the corporation and Number 10.

Mr Marr predicted there would be “a new tone, a new mood, new people inside the Downing Street press operation” by this winter.

But Downing Street immediately hit back, claiming the report was the latest example of the BBC focusing on “gossip rather than substance”. Speaking on BBC1’s News at 10 on Thursday night, Mr Marr said Mr Blair had met his communications chief earlier to discuss his future.

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,” he said.

“That means really the end of August, into the autumn, depending on how long the Hutton Inquiry takes to report.”

Mr Campbell was still convinced he would be “vindicated” by Lord Hutton’s inquiry into the death of Government scientist Dr David Kelly, Mr Marr said. He predicted Mr Campbell’s departure would precipitate “a very radical rethink of the whole way new Labour deals with the media”.

But a Downing Street spokesman insisted: “This is wishful thinking on behalf of the BBC. The BBC political editor has not spoken to Alastair Campbell about this. It is the latest example of the BBC focusing on gossip rather than substance.

“The main issue remains that the BBC broadcast false allegations on the 29th May with not a shred of evidence to substantiate them.

A spokesman for the BBC said: “We stand by Andrew Marr’s report.”