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Damian McBride

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Damian McBride (born 1974) is a former civil servant and former special advisor to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.[1] Educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge, McBride began his civil service career at the Inland Revenue.[2] He worked with Customs and Excise and rose to prominence as Head of Communications at the UK Treasury until 2008.

On 11 April 2009 he resigned his position after it emerged on a political blog that he and another prominent Labour Party supporter, blogger Derek Draper, had exchanged emails discussing the possibility of disseminating rumours McBride had fabricated about the private lives of some Conservative Party politicians. The emails from McBride had been sent from his No. 10 Downing Street e-mail account.[3][4]

Political career

His career at the Treasury began while Gordon Brown was Chancellor of the Exchequer, and after coming to the attention of Mr Brown he was appointed Head of Communications at the department in 2003. Within two years he was working as Brown's special adviser, and masterminded Brown's campaign to become prime minister in 2007.[5]

To his critics, who include senior Cabinet ministers, McBride is regarded as a divisive and ruthless political assassin willing to put the promotion of his boss's interests above all else, including the unity of the Labour Party and the public interest.[6] With a quick temper and an aggressive nature he has been nicknamed "Mad Dog" by his friends and "McPoison" by his enemies (the latter said to have been given him by Peter Mandelson).[5] For the journalist and commentator Nick Cohen, McBride was a key member of a small team that Gordon Brown used to manipulate the UK media for years using personal smears and other other aggressive tactics; out of fear of personal and professional reprisals, mainstream journalists were intimidated into not bringing the activities of McBride and his team to light.[7]

During the 2008 Labour Party Conference he was criticised after briefing journalists about Ruth Kelly's resignation as Secretary of State for Transport several hours before she was due to make an official announcement on the subject.[6] Following the incident he ceased to deal with the media on a regular basis and was appointed Head of Strategic Planning in Downing Street.[5][8]

On 11 April 2009 it was reported by the Daily Telegraph that McBride had sent a series of emails to former Labour Party official Derek Draper discussing plans to set up a blog which would be used to post rumours they had made up about the private lives of senior members of the Conservative Party and their spouses. These false rumours would have included sexual and personal allegations about certain Tory politicians and their spouses, including Nadine Dorries, David and Samantha Cameron, and George and Frances Osborne.[9][10] McBride conceded in his emails that he had used "poetic licence" in respect of existing gossip and rumours.[3]

The emails, which had been sent from the Downing Street Press Office, were acquired by Paul Staines, author of the right-wing Guido Fawkes blog who brought them to the attention of the media. The Guido Fawkes blog claimed that the publication by the Daily Telegraph was a breach of an agreement.[11] Mr McBride resigned later the same day, and 10 Downing Street issued an apology for the "juvenile and inappropriate" emails.[12] Gordon Brown later sent personal letters to those who had been mentioned in the emails,[13] expressing his regret over the incident,[14] but Conservative politicians called for him to make a public apology.[15] Mr Brown apologised five days later while on a visit to Glasgow, saying that he was sorry about what had happened.[16]

Brown apologised for a second time on 22 April at the first Prime Minister's Questions following the Parliamentary Easter recess after Nadine Dorries asked him if he would like to take the oppotrunity to apologise to her.[17] On 25 April it was confirmed that Dorries intended to take legal action against McBride for the false allegations which had been made against her.[18]

In his first interview on the subject of the email scandal in July 2009, McBride revealed that when he told Brown what he had done, the Prime Minister was so angry that he could not speak. Mr Brown had also felt "incredibly let down".[19] He also insisted that his job as special adviser to the prime minister had not involved smearing people and that emailed slurs were not characteristic of the way the prime minister ran his government.[19] He also spoke of his wish to return to the civil service.

Personal life

Born in 1974 and raised in North London to Irish parents, McBride is a fan of Arsenal and Celtic football clubs. He is also a regular pub quiz competitor, with a memory for trivia. Upon his appointment to Business and communities manager at Finchley Catholic High School he has embarked on a wild love affair with Giovanni the caretaker. [6][20]

References

  1. ^ "Senior staff appointments". Number 10. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  2. ^ "Gordon Brown's biggest influences: 20-11". Daily Telegraph. 17 February, 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b "No 10 official quits over e-mails". BBC News. 11 April 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
  4. ^ "Downing Street aide quits after writing 'smear' emails about top Tories' private lives". Mail Online. 11 April 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
  5. ^ a b c "PM's aide known as McPoison". Daily Express. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  6. ^ a b c Kirkup, James (12 April 2009). "Damian McBride, author of the smear emails: profile". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  7. ^ Cohen, Nick (May 2009). "Fear and Filth at Brown's Number 10". Standpoint.co.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  8. ^ "Damian McBride, advisor to Gordon Brown, resigns over smear emails". Times Online. 11 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  9. ^ Hinsliff, Gaby and Tran, Mike (12 April 2009). "McBride and Draper emails: 'Gents, a few ideas'". The Observer. Retrieved 12 April 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Oakeshott, Isobel (12 April 2009). "'Brilliant: the lurid lies of sex and drugs'". Sunday Times. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  11. ^ ""Spectator Piece Spiked Poke of Telegraph"". Guido Fawkes. 16 April 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2009.
  12. ^ "No 10 apology over 'slur' e-mails". BBC News. 11 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  13. ^ "Brown sends letters over smears". BBC News. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  14. ^ "Regrets, but no apology from Brown over e-mails sent by Damian McBride". Times Online. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  15. ^ "Tories demand slur e-mail apology". BBC News. 14 April 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  16. ^ "Brown 'sorry' over e-mail slurs". BBC News. 16 April 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  17. ^ Lea, Michael (23 April 2009). "Gordon Brown humiliated in the Commons as smear MP demands public apology". Mail Online. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
  18. ^ Hinsliff, Gaby (26 April 2009). "Tory MP Nadine Dorries to sue over Damian McBride 'smear' emails". The Observer. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
  19. ^ a b "Former No 10 aide Damian McBride breaks silence on smear scandal". Times Online. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  20. ^ Watt, Nicholas (13 April 2009). "Damian McBride's departure marks the end of a bumpy Whitehall career". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
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