McBride admits Brown and Blairite spin battle

McBride quit over email slurs targeting, among others, Frances Osborne
12 April 2012

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.

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