Prescott and Campbell Watch Hull-Burnley

[glenlittle99]

Available on BBC iPlayer radio. Whatever your views on Campbell, you have to admit he is a passionate Clarets supporter.

[Steve1956]

I listened to that live...very embarrasing.

[northeastclaret]

It was brilliant listening to the dominance of the Burnley fans and didn't mind the banter. Well worth a listen I am going do it again.

[Rowls]

I really love Campbell's enthusiasm for Burnley but the BBC shouldn't be allowing this kind of soft political propaganda.

[Walton]

I really love Campbell's enthusiasm for Burnley but the BBC shouldn't be allowing this kind of soft political propaganda.

What from an ex-spin doctor and an ex-MP?

Does that mean Michael Portillo's train journeys are Tory propaganda then?

[mdd2]

Why not? Don't agree with his politics but sure agree with his support of BFC and the way he would get digs in about both the Clarets (positive spin) and Rovers (negative spin). Never forget when he got a plug about Rovers European cup failure against Trelleborg whilst interviewed on Channel 4 News about Iraq. Pure brilliance.

Jon Snow: And now we are joined by Alastair Campbell - a rare moment - thank you for coming in.

This is row between you and the BBC. Many will see it as a diversionary tactic to prevent people from actually seeing the real issue there, which is that MPs are not getting to the root of whether in fact the intelligence we were provided with was the real intelligence provided by the intelligence services.

Alastair Campbell: Well, if people wish to see it as a diversionary tactic, they may. The media are constantly telling people never to take things at face value.

This is not a row between me and the BBC. This is an attempt by the government to get the BBC to admit that a fundamental attack upon the integrity of the government, the Prime Minister, the intelligence agencies, let alone people the evil spin doctors in the dark who do their dirty works in the minds of the journalists.

Let them just accept for once that they have got it wrong. The allegation, let's just understand what this allegation amounted to.

And these weasel words in Richard Sambrook's letter today that says to me, we didn't make the allegation. We reported a source making the allegation.

What does that say about journalism? You have been in journalism for decades, I was a journalist for quite a long time, I respect a huge number of journalists including many at the BBC, but they now say you can say anything you want on the television because somebody said it to you.

It doesn't matter if it's true. It doesn't matter if you check it. It doesn't matter if it's corroborated. You can say it.

Behind the scenes at Channel 4 News

On the day Alistair Campbell made an unexpected visits to the Channel 4 News, there happened to be a TV crew making a 'fly on the wall' film about the show. Watch the backroom team as they deal with an uninvited, but very welcome, guest.
- Watch Behind the Scenes
- Watch the interview in full



Jon Snow: The BBC's riposte to you is very reasoned. It is set in the context of all the other information which was in the public domain.

It is entirely consistent with that information. It credits the Guardian, the Observer, the Independent, The Times, I mean most of Fleet Street had similar accounts of what intelligence sources were telling them.

The BBC doesn't seem to be out of step with anybody else.

Alastair Campbell: The BBC in their letter to me, and it is fascinating, they have post facto justification of a story by citing sources in newspapers which wrote stories subsequent to their, to the story they had done.

Some of those stories, I know for a fact are incorrect. One of them, there is no point in going through all the detail, and I think the public are probably bored rigid with this already.

One of those stories I know for a fact is wrong, and I have addressed in evidence to the Select Committee.

Jon Snow: I think the public is more likely to be concerned at the extraordinarily intemperate language which is coming out on behalf of the Prime Minister in your name. 'The story was a lie, it is a lie.' 'Weasel words,' weasel not incidentally spelt correctly in consistent terms of the original fake dossier...

Alastair Campbell: If I may say so, the statement that you are reading from was read to the Press Association.

So that, that, I would not get hung up on the spelling mistake by somebody who's typed it, although I know that you, you also Jon, reported that the four people in my office were responsible for writing the so-called dodgy dossier when they were not.

However, put that to one side, the reason that is weasel words is that it does not answer the questions that I put.

I asked the BBC whether they were standing by the allegation they made, the BBC made, as John Humphrys described it, the BBC made the allegation that we deliberately exaggerated, abused, distorted.

Jon Snow: The answer to the question you put to the BBC, do they stand by it? The answer is yes, a robust yes.

Alastair Campbell: Excuse me, that letter is about as robust as Blackburn Rovers were when they played Trelleborgs (sic).

I'll tell you, the answer to the question - yes or no? Did we abuse British intelligence? The answer to that question is no.

[IanMcL]

Up the Clarets

[Chester Perry]

Found it eventually - Radio 2 today - 36.45 min in

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08fw47c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Steve1956]

Found it eventually - Radio 2 today - 36.45 min in

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08fw47c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Was it worth it?

[Chester Perry]

No

[Steve1956]

No

I was listening to Radio 2 when it came on....it was totally embarrasing,but you could hear our fans very loudly which was good.

[Garnerssoap]

I'd rather listen to Dr Kelly and Robin Cook at a match

But I can't can I

[Bin Ont Turf]

I was listening to Radio 2 when it came on....it was totally embarrasing

Nothing at all embarrassing about it.

I even had a little chuckle when Prescott was giving it .... Go home Burnley, Go home Burnley.

[basil6345789]

A pair of complete knobs

[Rowls]

What from an ex-spin doctor and an ex-MP?
Does that mean Michael Portillo's train journeys are Tory propaganda then?

Yes I'd happily see Michael Portillo and all prominent ex-politicians disallowed from making apparently non-partisan programmes. Why would you think that I didn't?

Seriously? Did you imagine I whooped up that smarmy get poncing around railways in his multi-coloured corduroys just because he used to pretend to believe in things?

[Clarets4me]

Mrs Clarets4me makes a very valid point, when she points out his tiny vallance bag that he puts on the overhead racking, at the start of every episode of his European/American railway adventures...

Strangely, then he has a full change of clothing for each tour-stop, containing various brightly coloured Jackets and Chino's . He's clearly very much a " Luggage in advance " man, to use an old fashioned phrase...

[1968claret]

Some people take politics too seriously. Couldn't stand Portillo as an MP but think he is great on his railway to series. Haven't yet found any subliminal Tory message in there yet? Maybe I need to look a little harder?

[Rowls]

Some people take politics too seriously. Couldn't stand Portillo as an MP but think he is great on his railway to series. Haven't yet found any subliminal Tory message in there yet? Maybe I need to look a little harder?

I genuinely do not think there is one. I don't even think that Michael Portillo cares much about politics these days.

But the point is, should a publicly-funded broadcaster (ie. the BBC) show programmes made by, written by or presented by people with a strong political bias?

Given that the BBC is legally obliged to be politcally neutral I would suggest that it would be better if it dropped the ex-politicians as presenters policy. And that does apply to both sides of the debate.