Alastair Campbell press secretary. Having recovered and become teetotal, he told Blair about his alcoholism, which Blair did not see as a problem. In his autobiography, Tony Blair would later reveal that Campbell had coined the name "New Labour" and described Campbell as a "genius". Campbell wrote the speech that led to the party's review of Clause Four and the birth of "New Labour". In addition to being press spokesman, Campbell was Blair's speech writer and chief strategist. He oversaw new co-ordination and rebuttal systems which gave birth to a communications machine which became both feared and respected, and the model for
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