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Apology from the Spectator on Iraq boosts Henry Hodge fund
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25 June 2009
I have never been a fan of the libel laws, and contrary to the claims of some in the media, I rarely bother to complain about things written about me. Life is too short and in any event if people in our street believed the bile and the bilge in papers like the Mail, I wouldn't be able to walk down to the shops.
But it would seem some critics of government policy on Iraq think it is once again open season to say what they like, including the kind of thing that I simply cannot allow to go without comment and action. This not least because many journalists now routinely regurgitate libels without making any independent checks whatever.
I was grateful to Steve Richards of The Independent for agreeing he had misrepresented my position with regard to prior consultation about the Iraq inquiry, and my position as to whether it should be public or private. It didn't stop William Hague making the same claim in the Commons, but there is not much I can do about that other than point out he was wrong.
Today The Spectator, who also did not bother to check before committing to print, ran a report making all sorts of claims about TB, GB and Peter M in relation to the Iraq inquiry. It is up to them if they want to do or say anything about those claims. But amid it all there was a statement - as in statement of fact - that I prevailed upon Lord Butler to water down the most important sections of his report on intelligence about Iraq.
Put to one side that this may be defamatory of Lord Butler in its suggestion that he allowed such prevailing to make him change his report. It is certainly defamatory of me in suggesting I tried. And it is totally untrue.
I left Downing Street in 2003, a year before his report was commissioned. Though I continued to keep in touch with the PM, I played no part in the Butler Report at all, at any stage. I did not discuss it with Lord Butler or any of his committee, to which I was not a witness. I did not see the report in advance of publication.
I think the allegation that I, as a former government employee, sought improperly to influence the content of such an important report, is a serious allegation to make and there is no substantiation for it.
I called the editor Matthew D'Ancona to complain this morning, after it was drawn to my attention. He checked it out with the reporter, John Kampfner, and reported back to me that Kampfner stood by the story and that his source was on the Butler committee.
By now, I had got a lawyer involved. I do not know what discussions Matthew D'Ancona then had with Kampfner but I do know that as I left a conference in Manchester a few hours later, he called to say he accepted Kampfner could not substantiate the story, and agreed to run the apology I had drafted for him in the morning, which runs as follows.
'In John Kampfner's article, we stated that Alastair Campbell prevailed upon Lord Butler to tone down important sections of his report on intelligence used in the build up to war in Iraq. We are happy to accept that this is not so, and that Mr Campbell, who left Downing Street in 2003, played no role in relation to the Butler inquiry to which he was not a witness. We apologise to him for our error and have agreed to make a donation to the fund he has established for Leukaemia Research in honour of Henry Hodge.'
My lawyer has since been on saying I should have got far more out of them, as it was a serious libel. But I am glad Matthew D'Ancona sorted it all out speedily, and suggest Kampfner and others minded to print what they might want to believe to be true do a little more checking first.
To any other journalists who feel they may have libelled me in relation to this or any other agenda-driven nonsense, please feel free to visit www.justgiving.com/alastaircampbell
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Well done Alastair! I appreciate you! And if people continue to throw mud at you… well, as you have seen, there’s nothing a FB campaign won’t solve! 🙂
My Best,
Alina
Libelled about your positions relative to the enquiries? Quibbling about details, methinks…
The consensus of opinion seems to be that you have been one of the major players in bringing about the deaths of thousands and thousands of people, as well as bringing worldwide opprobrium on our country.
The fact that you have the gall to harp on and on as if you are somehow an injured party is beyond contempt, and I hope that any readers of this blog recognise that.
I normally don’t trust many people in politics, but I trust you Alistair. I’m glad you challenged the inaccurate reporting. I fear there will be many more in the next year or however long it takes to complete this inquiry. Sadly I don’t think an inquiry will ever allow people to fully appreciate or understand the pressures prior to war.
When conservative “journalist” Tucker Carlson spoke at CPAC last year he was booed for saying that New York Times was a liberal paper but a paper that cares about accuracy and that too many conservative news organisations don’t put accuracy first.
Could the same be said about UK conservative news? I guess right-wingers have to lie otherwise they’d never get votes/readers.
Sue them all, is what I say. If they lie, sue them all.
Well done Alastair. It is always nice to draft your own apology article aswell
William Hague – ahem?You have mentioned him twice today. I wouldn’t be surprised if his wheels start to fall off and there is an upset in the Cameron Regime. Having been Party Leader (or any leader) it is almost impossible to work for the new leader effectively.Mr Hague would need years of work on his ego to change his subconsciousness and the help just isn’t there for him to do this. I am not sure he would enjoy working for a leader who is PR trained and driven (Cameron) These guys tend to have a shallow disposition
and I do not feel that , in a battle of reserves,Cameron would beat GB.
GB needs to reinvigorate his excellent team ( Peter Mandelson is getting excellent press) and start going for the Tories if he wants it enough.
The public would appreciate a good old fashioned House of Commons political ding-dong,some aggressive articles and interviews by GB, and a full no holds barred team effort by the cabinet.
I hope you can play a major role – particularly after your victory today.
Salut to Henry
best wishes
gary
Excellent, and well done for giving the money to charity. We now have a media which thinks it can write anything it wants without comeback. But please, do read the Mail, and do sue it. It is disgusting. I read it because some of the people at work do, and I like to argue with them. I think they may have repeated the Independent story. Assume never checked??
I read the piece online this morning, but only skimread. Having gone back to it, how on earth can a journalist write that unless he knows it to be true? Your blog is fascinating because it suggests they thrive on the idea most people won’t actually take legal action
When I was a youngster, I always thought the old journalistic adage “Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story” was a funny joke. Not any more. So well done for reminding these arrogant chancers that the truth is extremely valuable and isn’t negotiable. Keep it up – you’re an inspiration.
It is unfortunate Mr. C that you were the subject of libel, however, what is more unfortunate is the sub-standard level of writing that passes as journalism today. I read the article in question and the author shows a distinct lack of talent and a questionable grasp of composition.
Based on that sir, it could be considered a double insult that, not only was the author unable to substantiate his claims, but that the calumny in question was put forth in what is becoming an increasingly common and unsatisfactory style of writing.
Out of curiosity, are there any journalists whom you admire for their writing style, journalistic integrity and talent?
Good. I mean not good (obviously) that you were misrepresented, but good you called them on it and double good that they paid up.
I’m happy to say I’ve never even read a Spectator – don’t intend to change that either.
I find the LIES of the press utterly repellent. It is atually worse than that – it is DANGEROUS. The climate of hate and revenge they engender today will mean that when the Iraq Inquiry finds Blair (and you, Alastair, cleared of wrong-doing) you might well find it unsafe to “walk down to the shops”. Your old boss can’t do that already without an army of bodyguards and they haven’t even TRIED …sorry HEARD him yet!