Global Journalism Review
Phillis puts spin promises to test
by
Nicholas Jones
All those repeated promises by Tony
Blair that his government had turned its back on spin and has stopped chasing
tomorrow’s headlines can finally be put to the test.
Bob Phillis
and his review team have produced a blueprint for a long-term strategy which
could begin to arrest the downward spiral which has led to what they conclude
is a “three-way breakdown in trust between government and politicians,
the media and the general public”.
Judging by the initial response of
the Cabinet Office there are some grounds for optimism, but it is not clear
whether the Prime Minister and his colleagues have either the will or the
commitment to go as far and as fast as the Phillis
Review recommends.
Evidence to Lord Hutton’s
inquiry into the death of the weapons inspector Dr David Kelly exposed a harsh
reality. Blair’s earlier undertakings, in the wake of his 2001 general
election victory, were exposed as an empty gesture:
No wonder that the government, just
like the BBC, spent the months leading up to the publication of Lord
Hutton’s report proposing new procedures aimed at rectifying the
shortcomings and mistakes of the past.
The first positive outcome from the Phillis Review was announced last September, within days of
the ignominious resignation of Alastair Campbell, the
Prime Minister’s long-serving director of communications. An interim
recommendation -- that a senior civil servant should in future have strategic
control over the government’s publicity machine -- was accepted with
alacrity.
Blair had acknowledged, late in the
day, that the key media post in
In recommending that this should be a
civil service appointment -- rather than a political appointee -- the review
team said the new permanent secretary should become head of profession for
government information officers, provide “strategic leadership” and
establish a central unit that should become the “centre for
excellence” across government communications.
This new post was first advertised
last December but interviews will not take place until the spring -- an indication
no doubt of the government’s desire to postpone making an appointment
until after ministers have had time to adjust to any fallout from the Lord
Hutton’s report.
If a new permanent secretary is
vested with the kind authority which has been proposed, it might herald the
first tentative step towards establishing a spin-free regime in No.10. But so far there is no sign that Blair and
his fellow ministers will embrace other significant recommendations.
On the record
Phillis concluded
that lobby system was no longer working effectively and the review recommended
that all major briefings, including the twice-daily briefings for political
correspondents, should be “held on the record, live on television and
radio and with full transcripts available promptly on line”.
Instead of welcoming the opportunity
to demonstrate a new era of openness, the government’s response was
fudged by the Cabinet Office Minister, Douglas Alexander. He said the government agreed that more
ministers should hold lobby briefings, and these should be televised, but there
would have to be further discussion over whether this should be extended to all
briefings.
Opening up the lobby system to public
scrutiny is seen increasingly as a vital safeguard. Unless the government can break down the
secrecy that is inherent in the system, it will never persuade those who speak
on behalf of the state to recognise that statements
should always be made on the record and in public unless there are exceptional
circumstances.
A far more ominous omission was
Douglas Alexander’s failure to make any reference to a series of
recommendations aimed at establishing new guidelines governing the behaviour of the seventy-four politically-appointed special
advisers such as Jo Moore, whose infamous email about “burying bad
news” had been one of the original triggers for the Phillis
Review.
Alexander said the new permanent
secretary would have consultations on the need for the “improved training
and development” for all communications specialists.
Fair dealing
Yet again the government has avoided
giving a straight answer to an issue which will be of critical importance in
determining whether it is possible to curb the selective, off-the-record
briefings which have done so much to undermine the government’s
reputation for fair dealing with the media.
Over recent months ministers have
been deluged with reports recommending a tighter code of conduct for special
advisers and improved safeguards for civil service information officers who
fear their work is being politicised.
The Committee on Standards in Public
Life fears the work of these political appointees might “prejudice the
provision of objective and independent advice” to ministers, and the
Select Committee on Public Administration has also weighed in against the
“creeping powers” of ministerial spin doctors.
Unless there is new legislation to
redefine the boundaries -- and the Select Committee has already done its best
by publishing a draft Civil Service Bill -- the new Downing Street
communications supremo might lack the authority
needed to impose a new sense of discipline and find it impossible to curb
practices which became deeply ingrained during the Campbell era.
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