Brown's adviser quits over e-mails

Published on Saturday 11 April 2009 20:13

ONE of Gordon Brown's most trusted advisers resigned last night after sending scurrilous e-mails from Downing Street that contained unpleasant innuendo about the private lives of the Tory leadership.

Damian McBride quit after the Prime Minister said there was "no place" in politics for the messages that consisted of unfounded claims about David Cameron and George Osborne.

McBride, who was in charge of strategic planning at No 10, left his job at the end of a deeply embarrassing day for the Government, which raised questions about the tactics being used by the Labour administration to attack its opponents.

The Conservatives demanded a personal apology from the Prime Minister and an explanation of how the "defamatory comments" had been issued from Downing Street. The e-mails were sent from a No 10 account and were said to contain smears about senior Tories' private lives, business dealings and state of health. They also contained unfounded references to Tory MPs' close family members.

The unfounded smears suggested "putting the fear of God" into Osborne by spreading baseless gossip about the shadow chancellor. Last night, a Downing Street spokesman said: "Neither the Prime Minister, nor anybody else in Downing Street, had knowledge of these e-mails. It is the Prime Minister's view that there is no place in politics for the dissemination or publication of material of this kind."

Earlier, McBride had been forced into making a humiliating apology for sending the e-mails, but it was not enough to save him when senior figures in the Labour party called for his resignation.

McBride's e-mails were sent to Derek Draper, a close friend of Lord Mandelson who runs a Labour-supporting website.

But they found their way into the hands of blogger Paul Staines, who runs the Guido Fawkes political website, which is renowned for publicising Westminster gossip.

Staines would not say how he obtained the messages.

In his resignation statement, McBride said: "I am shocked and appalled that, however they were obtained, these e-mails have been put into the public domain by Paul Staines.

"When Derek Draper originally suggested using a website to compete with the kind of material seen regularly on the Guido Fawkes blog, he asked me in a personal capacity to write up some of the stories doing the rounds in Westminster.

"Derek and I decided in the end that this website was the wrong thing to do, and that Derek should not take his online efforts down to the level of Guido Fawkes and his Tory backers. I have already apologised for the inappropriate and juvenile content of my e-mails, and the offence they have caused, but I did not want these stories in the public domain – it is because Paul Staines has put them there, and I am sickened that he has done so.

"However, we all know that when a backroom adviser becomes the story, their position becomes untenable, so I have willingly offered my resignation. I regret any embarrassment I have caused them."

Charles Clarke, the former Labour Cabinet minister, said the e-mails had brought "shame" on the party.

Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, added: "This whole episode has been quite disgraceful. This resignation is a clear admission that Gordon Brown's team at No 10 were involved in a deliberate attempt to spread unpleasant false rumours about opposition politicians. Gordon Brown needs to provide a clear explanation about what happened and who else was involved.

"These are blatant lies cooked up in Downing Street by one of the Prime Minister's key advisers. Mr Brown hasn't even had the decency to apologise. His statement was unacceptable.

"This is an exceptionally serious matter and he needs to explain immediately what happened and how such defamatory comments came to be issued from Downing Street."

Staines – who has had a long-running spat with McBride – welcomed the resignation. "It raises questions about how Labour operates," Staines said. "This kind of smearing, pouring poison in journalists' ears. I think Damian was using it to destroy Labour politicians, never mind opponents."

Draper said McBride was paying "a high price" for material he had not chosen to publish.

Mad Dog's final spin?

To his friends he is Gordon Brown's enforcer, admiringly referred to as Mad Dog. His enemies simply know him as Damian McPoison – an epithet that would probably be used by many Blairites who had the misfortune to cross his path.

As Brown's spin doctor, McBride was once an effective operator who defended his boss with unquestioning loyalty from his enemies both inside and beyond the Labour party.

His florid complexion complemented a quick temper that often manifested itself in the frank e-mails he sent to journalists and colleagues.

Last October, the karaoke and lager-loving spin doctor made his first big blunder. It was then that he confirmed to journalists in a hotel bar at 3am that Ruth Kelly was resigning as Transport Secretary to spend more time with her family. The farcical "press conference" managed to take the gloss off a good Brown conference speech at a time when the PM was desperately attempting to win the confidence of the nation.