| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Campbell exit comes as surprise
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Alastair Campbell's announcement that he was stepping down as Prime Minister Tony Blair's director of communications took many political observers by surprise. Although Campbell had early indicated his desire to resign, it was the timing of his announcement -- coming in the midst of a crucial public inquiry into the apparent suicide of government weapons expert David Kelly -- that was most unexpected. "It's surprising. You'd think he would have waited for the end of the inquiry," Richard Beeston of The Times of London told CNN. "I guess he had had enough of being the whipping boy in this inquiry." Campbell, 46, was seen as the architect of the Labour Party's rebirth and Blair's election victory in 1997. Since then he has been the government's "spin doctor," handling its public image through the media. (Campbell profile) But in recent months, Beeston said, Campbell has been seen as the likely "fall guy" over allegations the government "sexed up" a September 2002 dossier on Iraq's weapons to strengthen the case for war. He came under increasing criticism after the death of Kelly, who was identified as the source of a BBC report which accused the government of altering the dossier before it was released. Reporter Andrew Gilligan subsequently named Campbell in a newspaper article as the culprit, an allegation Campbell vehemently denied in the media and before a public inquiry into Kelly's death. (Full story) But Beeston said Campbell had become too much a part of the Iraq and Kelly affair, making him a liability to the government. "I think it's clear to many of us here that he couldn't stay on in his job," he said. Campbell had been widely expected to quit later this year. But on Friday, Campbell said that he and Blair had agreed he should announce his resignation now. "We agreed on April 7 this year that I would definitely leave this summer and I have now given the prime minister formal notice of my decision to leave," Campbell said in a statement released by Downing Street. (Full statements) Tim Bell, former political adviser to Margaret Thatcher when she was prime minister, said Campbell's resignation indicated the public had grown tired of the Blair "spin machine." "What we learned is the government needs to communicate much more effectively," Bell told CNN. "I don't think people believe anyone anymore." Bernard Ingham, who held the communications job under the Thatcher government, said of Campbell: "He should have gone a lot earlier. "He has managed to destroy trust in the British government," he told CNN. "I think he has done this government an enormous disservice by the regime of spin doctoring that he has practiced. But, of course, the man who bears ultimate responsibility for his operations is Tony Blair, and Tony Blair should resign, too." Meanwhile, Labour Party chairman Ian McCartney paid tribute to Campbell and said his resignation would be a "real loss." He praised Campbell for his "honesty, candor, integrity and passion," the UK's Press Association reported. "I know the debt our party and movement owes him," he said. "Alastair Campbell is first and foremost a Labour man, steeped in Labour values." "In opposition, Alastair's contribution to bring Labour out of the wilderness years was immeasurable. In office he has given outstanding service to the prime minister and to the Labour government, sometimes at real personal cost."
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
