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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: D. Long who wrote (6267)	8/29/2003 10:43:01 AM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793597

UK Government clean up begins... Alastair Campbell quits news.bbc.co.uk Alastair Campbell is to resign as the government's director of communications and strategy. Mr Campbell's decision was announced by Downing Street shortly after 1430 BST on Friday. No successor has been announced, while a date for Mr Campbell's departure has not been set. He said: "It has been an enormous privilege to work so closely in opposition and in government for someone I believe history will judge as a great transforming prime minister." The Alastair Campbell I know is an immensely able, fearless, loyal servant of the cause he believes in, who was dedicated not only to that cause but to his country Tony Blair Campbell's life and times Mr Campbell said his family had paid a price for his role and said his partner, Cherie Blair's aide Fiona Millar, would be leaving No 10 at the same time "in a few weeks". Mr Campbell, who has three children, said he planned to write, broadcast and make speeches, but did not want to take on "another big job". Tony Blair paid tribute to his media chief as a "an immensely able, fearless, loyal servant of the cause he believes in". The dramatic announcement comes amid the Hutton inquiry into the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly. Mr Campbell, a former newspaper journalist, gave evidence to the inquiry last week over the BBC report that Downing Street had "sexed up" the Iraq arms dossier. Notice He said: "My family, friends and close colleagues know that I have been thinking for some time about leaving my position as director of communications and strategy. It is time to move on and do other things, and let others support the prime minister in the next phase of the government's programme of change Alastair Campbell Campbell's career in quotes "I had intended to leave last summer but as the Iraq issue developed, the prime minister asked me to stay on to oversee government communications on Iraq, and I was happy to do so." He said he and the prime minister had agreed on 7 April that he would step down from his role this year. "I have now given the prime minister formal notice of my decision to leave," he added. Mr Campbell said the decision was announced on Friday because he felt it would be wrong to do so while the Hutton inquiry was sitting. The inquiry adjourned on Thursday and will resume on Monday. Assist Mr Campbell went on: "I shall of course continue to be available to assist (the) inquiry in any way (Lord Hutton) wishes. I will always be grateful for the opportunities I have had since the prime minister asked me to work for him Alastair Campbell Your views on Campbell resignation Your views on Campbell resignation "I will also be available in the next few weeks to assist the handover to my successor, who will be announced shortly." In a statement, Mr Blair said: "The picture of Alastair Campbell painted by parts of the media has always been a caricature. "The Alastair Campbell I know is an immensely able, fearless, loyal servant of the cause he believes in, who was dedicated not only to that cause but to his country. "He is a strong character who can make enemies but those who know him best, like him best." Mr Campbell said there was "no better job than the one I have been doing". He went on: "I will always be grateful for the opportunities I have had since the prime minister asked me to work for him." Historic He said he looked back "with pride and satisfaction" at the role he said he had played in modernising Labour and helping to win two general elections. More important than that was, he said, his role in helping the prime minister and other ministers "in making the historic changes the government has made to our economy, our society and Britain's role in the world". He went on: "It is time to move on and do other things, and let others support the prime minister in the next phase of the government's programme of change." Mr Campbell started working with Mr Blair after he became Labour leader in 1994 and became the prime minister's official spokesman after Labour's election victory in 1997. He moved to his role as communications director in 2001. He said there were "huge upsides" to his job, including "the knowledge that you are witnessing history in the making". But he added: "There are downsides too and these are mostly borne by your family. "The reality is that in some jobs, and this is one of them, there is no such thing as a day off, or a night off, or a holiday without interruption. "The pressures are real and intense, but in doing the job you learn to live with them. It is your family that pays a price." He said Ms Millar plans to return to freelance journalism. Sport "We have three wonderful children and we look forward to spending a lot more time with them," he added. The Burnley football fan said he planned to write not only about politics, but also about sport and get involved in grassroots sports development. He said he also plans to devote more time and effort to the Leukaemia Research Fund, for which he ran the London Marathon earlier this year. But he said politics was "a passion of my life" and would remain a close interest, saying: "I will continue to help the political causes I believe in in any way I can." He thanked his staff at Downing Street, saying they had been an "enormous source of strength and support through the good times and the bad". He added: "I also leave knowing that despite the pressures and the strains, I have a friendship with the prime minister which will endure... "And I leave knowing that whatever the crises, the dramas, the things that went wrong as well as the things that went right, he gave me a big job, a big challenge and I strove at all times to do it to the best of my ability, and hopefully made a difference for the better."