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McBride admits Brown and Blairite spin battle
Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent20.07.09
Former No10 aide Damian McBride today admitted he defended Gordon Brown by briefing against his critics.
Mr McBride, 35, who quit Downing Street over the Tory email scandal, gave an unprecedented insight into the spinning battles between Blairites and Brownites which for years have been officially denied as ever taking place.
He suggested he had to respond to attacks on the Prime Minister from Labour heavyweights including Charles Clarke, Alan Milburn and Frank Field but claimed Mr Brown did not know about the emails he sent out.
However Tony Blair's former deputy press secretary Lance Price today claimed that Mr McBride's conduct was driven by Mr Brown himself.
Mr Price said Mr Brown responded to trivial attacks and should have had a “thick skin”, instead of getting his staff to hit back.
In an interview with the Victoria Derbyshire show on BBC Radio 5 Live, Mr McBride argued he would not have been doing his job if he did not “respond in some kind” to vitriolic undermining of Mr Brown.
“For the most part we tried to respond by saying we are getting on with a serious job',” he added, making clear that at other times more personal and aggressive methods were used.
But he also claimed that other advisers were too quick to blame “that bloke McBride” if their minister was getting a bad press.
Mr McBride revealed that he wrote potentially explosive diaries following his resignation as Mr Brown's communications chief and has not ruled out making them public. He also told how Mr Brown was so angry when he divulged details of the email he had written with lurid and unfounded allegations made against senior Tories.
“He was I think probably so angry and mortified that he could not really speak, at least initially, about what I had actually done.”
Despite Mr Brown's reputation for tempter tantrums, Mr McBride added: “When, I think, he's genuinely angry he can be just very deadly silent.”
The former spin chief is also understood to admit that he mishandled coverage of the “election-that-never-was” in autumn 2007.
The former special adviser said he was sorry for the damage caused to Mr Brown by the email in which he suggested ideas which could be put on a new website called Red Rag.
A blogger obtained details of the message which were later published.
Mr McBride, whose father died three years ago, said: “I remember thinking Thank God my father didn't have to see this' but the way Gordon reacted to me that day, it was as bad as telling my dad.”
Recalling having sleepless nights after the email furore exploded, he said: “I was brought down by the newspapers, and obviously my own stupidity. I let (Downing Street) down appallingly. No 10 should have stuck the boot into me much harder.”
Mr McBride, who quit his post in April, will take up a new job this month at his old school, Finchley Catholic High, as a business liaison officer.
Reader views (26)
Brown's creeping odious slimy hitman for 10 years, smearing opponents with lies to destroy them and their families, no fair debate or elections. Brown's little creep reflects his master's character. Never truthful, always lie and spin other parties policies. Always smear. Like the Dark Lord Prince of Evil himself Lord Voldermort of Foy. These people personify evil and vicious nastiness. Brown made this cretin the Head of UK Strategy! Shows Brown's priorites and the way he runs the UK? McBride was part of a close group of Balls, Watson, Byrne, Whellan, Brown and other Labour MP's, minsters and Union officers. All engaged in the same sort of policies. Their focus is smear opponents, not improve the UK. They claim to be 'fair', while enjoying their games to destroy lives.
How can this creep be employed by the State? He was fired as immoral and untrustworthy, now given a £65,000 a year job for doing nothing.
This is an insult to all taxpayers. They should demand he is fired. He should be tried and jailed.
- Ron, London
This man really is an odious little creep - it's utterly sick that he should bring the death of his father into this matter, and just goes to show how little respect he has for anyone or anything, even the memory of his own father.
- Alex, London
I am astonished that Finchley High can afford to engage Mr. McBride to work for them. I'd love to know more about what sort of advantage they hope to gain from this recruitment. Was the post advertised? Was the selection made by a panel drawn up under the equal oppotunities procedures preferred by the present Government? Did Mr.McBride provide references? Was one of his referees a Mr Balls? Come, on, we should be told.
- Mlowe, london
This man is a scumbag with no talent and just an obnoxious manner with no principles that should not even be given 'air time' but of course it was the BBC, bog off Damian your history !!!
- Nick Holland, glasgow
So we have a disgraced former adviser to Brown revealing what a nest of vipers New Labour really is. Ugh - none of them very appealing..
- James Elliott, Eastbourne UK
One wonders whether Ed Balls got him the job at Finchley High as surely, otherwise, he is unfit to be involved in education at any level
- Gordonbay, London and Cape Town
When I was reading this article it all sounded very familiar, bitching, backbiting, vitriolic undermining - then I remembered. I went to an all girls school, and this sounds just like what we had to put up with in the fifth form.
- Maire, London, UK
He sounds and looks like he should have the part of a minor villain in "The Bill".
- Harry Va Derci, London
So, booted out of Government for lying & spinning & briefing against democratically elected politicians - is Mr Mcbride really a suitable person to work in a school with impressionable youngsters?
He is a professional bully - there should be no place for him in any school.
- Sarah Wentworth, Swadlincote England
Labour's loss is Finchley Catholic High's gain?
- Prototypical Englishman, Wormwood Scrubs
And further into the interview he says that he is looking forward to resuming his career in the Civil Service. Can we really be serious about employing this type of person on the public payroll ? If he returns it will say all you want to know about a corrupt and unfit government.
- Fay Mcademy, London
It's just an adult version of the boy who cried wolf really.
They don't seem to realise, because they have spun lies so often, even if they did tell the truth now, we just wouldn't believe it.
If the liebour party told me a blackboard was black I wouldn't believe them.
- P Staker, London
Just waiting for that Labour supporting apologist and numpty, Keith Price along with his equally half witted partner in crime from Spain, to post their rantings on this article. No doubt they will be full of praise for how McBroon took immediate action to fire the odious McBride, whilst David Cameron refuses to sack his press secretary, Andy Coulson, over unfounded allegations in the Labour supporting Guardian. Notice how quiet they have become since the 'exclusive' Guardian story was shown to be just a rehash of an old political story going back more than two years. It was nothing more than a blatent attempt to score political points against David Camerons press secretary. LOL.
- Petra, Croydon Uk
Oh.. stop digging further into a deeper hole! Trust is one thing if you lose you don't ever get back. Few trust New Labour; fewer trust Brown; and none trusts McBride, now or ever!
- Nat, New Malden
A pathetic attempt to rewrite history; newlabour just never stopp the spinning. It will only cease once this shambles of a government is thrown out of office.
The very idea that a hand picked advisor working right in the centre of government had hatched a plot his boss knew nothing about just beggars belief. But still they attempt to spin their version of events now that Damian McBride is off for his rehab at his catholic alma mater.
Whatever next? Tony Blair was speechless when he discovered there were no WMDs to be found in Iraq? David Blunkett was speechless when he found out that sleeping with his girlfriend had got her pregnant; Gordon Brown was speechless when he learned what the banks had done with his deregulation?
It's not spin, it's newspin like we've never seen it before; so utterly ridiculous and incredible as to be immediately discredited.
What is the point of this government lumbering along lying to us for another ten months?
Call an election.
- Robin, London
Oooh, let's keep Crash fuming then and stop him spouting all his usual bland nonsense.
- Marianne, SW France/London
A simple routine smearing job and they could not even get that right. It was rank incompetence and Gordon was left to carry the can.
No wonder he was angry.
- Mike Newland, London, England
Gordon Brown took about a week to react publicly to the McBride emails. Before that he was issuing excuses and making "no smoke without fire" noises. It was patently obvious that he WASN'T angry and was doing his utmost to cling on to McBride.
- Stella Anderson, Kingston, Surrey
Oh please, pass the sick bucket!
On a related note can the Army stage a coup here at home please.
- Man In The Street, London, UK
speechless - maybe he'd do better with silence than the usual drivel he spouts
- David, soton
After an hr or so of being speechless, I would like to say that I am astonished that anyone connected with the Labour Party and Brown in particular expects us to believe anything they say, ever again.
- St, London
About as convincing as Hitler not knowing of the "Final Solution"
No doubt the spin doctors were busy over the weekend getting this ready for a Monday morning release.
- Nickspurs, London
Was that speechless with rage about the Emails or speechless with rage because his smear strategy had been found out before deployment?
In any event if he's been employing such muck rakers then he should expect a little of the odour to adhere. Lay down with dogs wake up with fleas.
- Ethan, uk
Further proof - if any was required - that Gordon Brown is a clueless muppet.
- Jethro Penzance, Bodmin
So, this time we are supposed to believe McBride are we ? That this time he is telling the truth rather than just spinning to make his master look good ?
- Roy Grainger, London
Oh really?
Gordon Brown had worked very closely with this man for years and now we are supposed to believe that he had no idea of how he operated?
The man was a member of a group of close Brown aides who had been smearing, spinning and slandering colleagues in the Labour Party for years who they thought presenteda potential threat to the interests of Gordon Brown. They included Derek Draper, Liam Byrne, Ed Balls and Tom Watson.
Numerous Labour Party colleagues have gone public about these activities and the MacBride affair finally bought events into the public domain.
It beggars belief that this story will mean that people think Gordon Brown was unaware of what his cronies were up to!
- Manny Goldstein, London, UK
