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Brown aide reveals PM slur anger Brown aide reveals PM slur anger
(about 2 hours later)
Damian McBride, the Downing Street aide who quit over e-mail smears about the Tories, says Gordon Brown had been so angry he could hardly speak. Damian McBride, the Downing Street aide who quit over e-mail smears about the Tories, says Gordon Brown was so angry at the time he could hardly speak.
In his first broadcast interview since he resigned, the former special adviser told the BBC he was ashamed of the lurid e-mails he wrote from Number 10.In his first broadcast interview since he resigned, the former special adviser told the BBC he was ashamed of the lurid e-mails he wrote from Number 10.
He left his post in April after a blogger revealed their contents.He left his post in April after a blogger revealed their contents.
He said when he spoke to the prime minister about the messages Mr Brown "immediately agreed" he had to go. But some of the stories written about him smearing Mr Brown's critics in the Labour Party were "ludicrous", he said.
The former adviser's job was to try to manage the way the press treated Mr Brown.The former adviser's job was to try to manage the way the press treated Mr Brown.
'Deadly silent''Deadly silent'
But when e-mails he wrote from his Downing Street computer making false and offensive accusations about senior Conservatives were revealed, he resigned. But when e-mails he wrote from his Downing Street computer making false and offensive accusations about senior Conservatives were revealed, he resigned, apologising for the "inappropriate and juvenile" content.
At the time he apologised for the "inappropriate and juvenile content of my e-mails, and the offence they have caused". In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live's Victoria Derbyshire programme, he insisted the e-mails had simply been stories, well known in Westminster among journalists, that he had noted down in an e-mail.
Downing Street said Mr Brown had known nothing about the emails but he later apologised for the episode. Mr McBride had been one of the prime minister's closest advisers. He said it was intended to help out his friend Derek Draper - who was planning on setting up a left wing blog to compete with "scurrilous" blogs which had become a "thorn in the side" of the Labour Party.
In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live's Victoria Derbyshire programme, Mr McBride described the moment he had to explain himself to Mr Brown. But he said as far as he was concerned the stories had "gone in the dustbin" when Mr Draper decided to dump the idea of the Red Rag blog.
"I had to tell him the content of these e-mails, which is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. His reaction, as he said himself, was I think probably so angry and mortified that he couldn't really speak, at least initially, about what I'd actually done. Looking back at the content he had been "appalled" and admitted the emails had "quite nasty content" but denied it was characteristic of the way he did his job.
"That's characteristic of Gordon despite the myths that go round about him losing his temper. When I think he's just genuinely angry he can be very sort of just deadly silent." He said nobody else in Number 10 Downing Street, including Mr Brown, had known about the emails. The prime minister he later apologised for the episode - Mr McBride had been one of his closest advisers.
He added that when he said he knew he had to resign, Mr Brown "immediately agreed with that".
'Feeding frenzy''Feeding frenzy'
Mr McBride said he had not thought properly about the "quite nasty content" of the e-mails and had said to himself "What the hell were you thinking?" Mr McBride said telling Mr Brown exactly what had been in the e-mails had been "one of the hardest things I've ever had to do".
The former special adviser, who was nicknamed "McPoison", said the emails did not reflect the way Mr Brown operated and insisted his job did not involve smearing people. "His reaction, as he said himself, was I think probably so angry and mortified that he couldn't really speak, at least initially, about what I'd actually done."
"If that had been the case then people would have been able to come out during that feeding frenzy in the week after I resigned and point to specific circumstances, specific instances where individuals had been smeared, attacked in a personal way," he said. He said when Mr Brown was "genuinely angry" he went "deadly silent".
He added that when he said he knew he had to resign, Mr Brown "immediately agreed with that".
The former special adviser, who was nicknamed "McPoison", said the e-mails did not reflect the way Mr Brown operated and insisted his job did not involve smearing people.
Blair/Brown
He said there had been a media "feeding frenzy" after he resigned in which all sorts of things were laid at his door but he denied giving "attack briefings" against individuals.
"I was being accused of all sorts of ludicrous things that I had absolutely no involvement with," he said.
His special adviser status meant he had been allowed to give partisan - and sometimes strident - political briefings to journalists.His special adviser status meant he had been allowed to give partisan - and sometimes strident - political briefings to journalists.
He also gained a reputation for his tirades delivered via text message to reporters whose stories he disliked, although he has said he could count "on one hand" journalists to whom he had sent angry messages.
In the BBC interview, Mr McBride said his "McPoison" nickname was "inevitable" given his role working for Mr Brown at the height of the "tension" between the then chancellor and former PM Tony Blair.In the BBC interview, Mr McBride said his "McPoison" nickname was "inevitable" given his role working for Mr Brown at the height of the "tension" between the then chancellor and former PM Tony Blair.
"There was a lot of tension there ... That was always overblown to some extent but when that did come out and expressed itself in vitriolic briefings against Gordon ... then inevitably part of my job was reacting to that.""There was a lot of tension there ... That was always overblown to some extent but when that did come out and expressed itself in vitriolic briefings against Gordon ... then inevitably part of my job was reacting to that."
He accused Labour backbencher Frank Field and former Blairite cabinet ministers Charles Clarke, Alan Milburn and Stephen Byers of "vitriolic" comments and said he would not have been doing his jobs had he not responded "in some kind".He accused Labour backbencher Frank Field and former Blairite cabinet ministers Charles Clarke, Alan Milburn and Stephen Byers of "vitriolic" comments and said he would not have been doing his jobs had he not responded "in some kind".
He also admitted mishandling coverage of a mooted general election in the autumn of 2007.He also admitted mishandling coverage of a mooted general election in the autumn of 2007.
Listen to the full interview with Damian McBride on BBC Radio 5 Live from 1000 BST on Monday. "If I had my time again I would have done that very differently," he said.