Cabinet of the United Kingdom Minister to attend Cabinet meetings on a regular basis, notably Alastair Campbell in his capacity as Director of Communications and Strategy between 1997 and 2003, and Jonathan Powell, the Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, under Tony Blair, with a distinctly separate role from the Cabinet Secretary/Head of the Civil Service. A photograph is taken of each new Cabinet in the garden or drawing room at 10 Downing Street. The Cabinet meets on a regular basis, usually weekly on a Thursday morning notionally to discuss the most important issues of government policy, and to make decisions. Despite the custom
Alastair Campbell Alastair Campbell". It is also widely believed that the character of Malcolm Tucker from the BBC political satire comedy "The Thick of It" is loosely based on Campbell. Tucker is famous for his short fuse and use of very strong language. In an interview with Mark Kermode on BBC2's "The Culture Show", Campbell denied that the two are similar in any relevant way, but admitted to his liberal use of profanities in the workplace. The interview descended into argument with Campbell accusing the likes of Mark Kermode and the show's creator Armando Iannucci of being responsible for people's cynicism with