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Spin... the Jo Moore affair
Key dates
· 11 Sep 2001 Jo Moore, adviser to Stephen Byers, sends controversial email.
· 15 Feb 2002 Jo Moore resigns.
· 28th May 2002 Stephen Byers, Transport Secretary, resigns.
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Top civil servant admits mistake over Jo Moore
The senior civil servant at the centre of the storm that led to the sacking of Jo Moore and the resignation of Stephen Byers over the "bury bad news" email sent on September 11 last year, admitted to an independent inquiry yesterday that he was to blame for not training her properly. (Guardian, 19 Sep 2002)
Ugly building became symbol of ugly politics
The ugly green-glass-and-concrete tower looming over the Thames just upriver from Parliament was the physical embodiment of a new approach to politics. (Independent, 24 Aug 2002)
Office politics
When Labour moved to Millbank, it hoped the shiny Sixties tower would reflect its new-found modernity and dynamism. Instead, it became synonymous with the worst excesses of control-freakery. (Guardian, 23 Aug 2002)
Whitehall spin machine expanded
The electronic information and rebuttal system used by the government to help Whitehall stay on message is to undergo a dramatic expansion, according to Cabinet Office documents seen by the Guardian. (Guardian, 3 Aug 2002)
Spin bill tops £5m
The government is spending record amounts of cash on "special advisers" - such as former transport department spin doctor Jo Moore.
(BBC, 25 Jul 2002)
Civil servants 'should be disciplined over email scandal'
Civil servants involved in the email crisis on September 11 could be disciplined.
A report by a committee of MPs claims special adviser Jo Moore's email sparked a "catastrophic" war in Whitehall. (Ananova, 19 Jul 2002)
Labour chairman accuses media of exaggerating spin
Labour chairman Charles Clarke has accused the party's critics in the media of undermining democracy by exaggerating sleaze and spin. (Ananova, 12 Jun 2002)
Exit Byers, with spin control to the end
Stephen Byers gave no sign of wanting to resign at the weekend, despite having his record as Transport Secretary savaged by a Labour-dominated select committee. (Standard, 29 May 2002)
Fateful email that led to press claiming first New Labour scalp
In the cruel world of politics, a colleague of Stephen Byers offered a brutal verdict on his downfall last night. (Guardian, 29 May 2002)
Stephen Byers resigns
Transport Secretary Stephen Byers has resigned. He said he was leaving because it was "the right thing to do for the Government and the Labour Party". (Ananova, 28 May 2002)
I spun too much repents Campbell
ALASTAIR CAMPBELL admits today that Labour’s use of spin has damaged British politics and says the relationship between the Government and the media is becoming a “dialogue of the deaf”. (Times, 9 May 2002) (!)
Byers accused of 'misleading' MPs over Sixsmith affair
Transport Secretary Stephen Byers stands accused of misleading parliament over the "spingate" affair. (Ananova, 8 May 2002)
Jo Moore accused of being 'text book bully'
Former spin doctor Jo Moore's treatment of her staff was a "classic textbook case of bullying" according to the head of a civil service union. (Ananova, 28 Feb 2002)
Do not stop at Mooregate
The Labour Party's experts in spin are a fast-growing - and increasingly costly - breed. (Independent on Sunday, 17 Feb 2002)
Spin doctor who failed once again to bury her bad news
Jo Moore would doubtless have preferred it if her hurried departure from the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) had been "buried" under a world event of some sort. (Independent, 16 Feb 2002)
Government spin doctors quit over email row
Spin doctor Jo Moore and Whitehall communications chief Martin Sixsmith have quit, Downing Street has confirmed. (Ananova, 15 Feb 2002)
Byers forced to drop job for 'crony'
Transport Secretary Stephen Byers was this afternoon forced into a humiliating climbdown after he was accused of trying to fix a top Whitehall job for a friend of his controversial political adviser Jo Moore. (Standard, 21 Jan 2002)
Government rejects call for spending cap on advisers
The Government has rejected a call from a Commons committee to place a cap on the money spent on special advisers. (Ananova, 18 Dec 2001)
Why there's nothing sinister about the black art of spin
THE ministerial policy discussion had been going on for an hour when one of the junior ministers suddenly became angry. “All we seem to talk about is tomorrow’s newspapers,” he said. “There’s no long-term vision.” (Times, 12 Dec 2001)
New rules for ministers will curb 'spin' tactics
Tony Blair is to rewrite the code of conduct for ministers to stop spin doctors leaking government announcements before they are released to MPs. (Independent, 11 Dec 2001)
Lib Dems refer Jo Moore to Commons' sleaze watchdog
The Liberal Democrats have referred Stephen Byers' special advisor Jo Moore to the Commons' sleaze watchdog.
The party's cabinet office spokesman Mark Oaten said he had asked the standards and privileges committee to investigate whether she had broken the code of conduct for ministerial advisors. (Ananova, 1 Dec 2001)
Jo Moore caught burying bad news again
JO MOORE was left isolated in Whitehall and fighting for her job last night after it emerged that she ordered civil servants to brief selected journalists about Railtrack under cover of the Chancellor's pre-Budget report. (Telegraph, 29 Nov 2001)
PR leader urges tough new code for spin doctors
A rigorous new code of conduct for spin doctors should be introduced and tough sanctions imposed on those who step out of line, a leading figure in the public relations industry said yesterday. (Guardian, 12 Nov 2001)
Jo Moore living on borrowed time, claim Labour MPs
LABOUR MPs believe Jo Moore is living on borrowed time after the Prime Minister suggested she could become too depressed to continue. (Telegraph, 26 Oct 2001)
Labour MP attacks 'dirty tricks' by Millbank
THE Labour Party was accused yesterday of waging a dirty tricks campaign to discredit one of its MPs who has been harshly critical of the war in Afghanistan. (Telegraph, 26 Oct 2001)
Blunkett denies 'burying' cannabis announcement
David Blunkett has fiercely denied burying his move to change the law on cannabis beneath the IRA's disarmament announcement. (Ananova, 24 Oct 2001)
Spin doctors accused of dirty tricks
Anti-war Labour MP Paul Marsden today accused government spin doctors of using dirty tricks to discredit him. (Standard, 22 Oct 2001)
'Scandal' to let Moore stay while Filkin goes
THE removal of Elizabeth Filkin as Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards while Jo Moore is kept on as a special adviser is an "absolute scandal", a Tory MP said last night. (Telegraph, 20 Oct 2001)
Civil servants complain of bullying by Byers aide
The leader of Britain's most senior civil servants yesterday launched his strongest attack yet on the alleged "bullying" tactics used by the "spin doctor" Jo Moore against officials. (Independent, 20 Oct 2001)
Labour 'buried report of BSE inquiry'
How did top scientists mix up brains from cattle and sheep?
The Government was accused of spreading "the Jo Moore syndrome" after apparently trying to hide details of the disastrous scientific investigation into BSE in sheep by releasing them in a misleading statement late at night. (Independent, 20 Oct 2001)
BSE research publication 'perhaps in error'
Rural Affairs Secretary Margaret Beckett says it was "perhaps in error" she ordered the publication of a serious mix-up by scientists researching BSE in sheep. (Ananova, 20 Oct 2001)
A further look at ministerial advisers
Peter Preston is right to say, following the recommendation in the committee on standards in public life's sixth report, that there is now a separate code of conduct for special advisers and a revised "model contract" (What the email said, October 15). (Guardian, 17 Oct 2001)
Leak exposes Byers' claim over rail cash
Stephen Byers claimed that he was substantially increasing government support for the London tube this year when he knew investment was being cut by 30%, according to secret correspondence obtained by the Guardian. (Guardian, 17 Oct 2001)
Byers aide says sorry on TV
Jo Moore, the spin doctor accused of tasteless exploitation of the attacks on America, yesterday made a fresh attempt to save her job by apologising on television for her "terrible error of judgment". (Guardian, 17 Oct 2001)
Terror memo aide breaks cover
The government spin doctor who suggested the US terror attacks provided a "very good day" to "bury" bad news has apologised in public for the offence she caused. (BBC, 16 Oct 2001)
Dark arts of spin rebound on aide who called September 11 'a good day'
AT a time when women Labour activists were notable for greasy hair and scruffy denims, the pretty young volunteer stood out. (Telegraph, 14 Oct 2001)
Blair and Brown prop up Byers
DOWNING STREET led a concerted effort yesterday to bolster the position of Stephen Byers and the aide whose memo urged officials to “bury” bad news in the aftermath of the attacks on America. (Times, 13 Oct 2001)
If Mr Byers will not sack his spin doctor, he is unfit to remain a Minister
Even at this distance, four days on from The Independent breaking the story, Stephen Byers' arrogance is hard to get used to. How could anyone think that his special adviser Jo Moore could stay in her job after reading the memo that she sent to the head of his department's press office? (Independent, 13 Oct 2001)
Stephen Byers: spinning off the rails
Any politician who manages to turn Railtrack from an object of vilification into a victim should ask himself if he might not have risen beyond his abilities. (Independent, 13 Oct 2001)
Byers courts the media as furore over aid grows
In an attempt to defuse the controversy over Ms Moore, who on 11 September suggested her colleagues use the attacks to "bury bad news", the Secretary of State for Transport gave a series of carefully circumscribed interviews on the affair. (Independent, 13 Oct 2001)
Top PR demands sacking of Byers aide
The chairman of a leading public relations organisation has called on the government to sack Jo Moore, the aide who issued a memo advising colleagues to "bury" bad news in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. (Guardian, 12 Oct 2001)
Call for inquiry into 'bad news day' email
MINISTERS and senior civil servants were under growing pressure last night to reveal the extent to which the Government used the September 11 terrorist attacks in America to "bury" awkward political announcements.
Jo Moore, the special adviser to Stephen Byers, Transport Secretary, has apologised for sending a memo within an hour of the attack on the World Trade Centre suggesting that it was a "good day" to release bad news. (Telegraph, 11 Oct 2001)
Aide who rose to power
JO MOORE is one of the Labour backroom apparatchiks who have fought for the modernising cause within the party for more than a decade.
Like many others who now hold influential positions in and around government, she cut her political teeth helping Neil Kinnock, the former party leader, in his battle against the far Left. At that time the main enemy was the Militant Tendency. (Telegraph, 10 Oct 2001)
Deluge of embarrassing headlines was 'buried' by terror crisis
The Government has used the international crisis over terrorism to camouflage several unpopular decisions and embarrassing policy U-turns. (Independent, 10 Oct 2001)
Chief error was in getting caught out
ALL governments try to manage the news. Few have been caught out so spectacularly. (Telegraph, 10 Oct 2001)
Aide apologises for 'attacks memo'
A senior government adviser has apologised for sending a memo on the day of the US terror attacks saying it would be a good time to "bury" some controversial stories. (BBC, 9 Oct 2001)
Labour spin doctor on rack over 11 September email
A leading spin doctor for the Labour party is apparently fighting for her job after a leaked email saw her suggest that the US terrorist attacks would make useful news cover for embarrassing or controversy UK government decisions. (Register, 9 Oct 2001)
The nature of the beast
New Labour spin doctor Jo Moore presented a public image that was heartless, calculating and cynical. (BBC, 9 Oct 2001)
Anger over £.5m bill for Blair's aides
THE Labour Party is paying around £500,000 a year in salaries for high-flying political aides working for Tony Blair in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, including one Cabinet minister. (Telegraph, 1 Oct 2001)
Consultation begins on council allowances
New proposals for a simpler system of allowances for councillors were published for consultation today by Local Government Minister Nick Raynsford. (Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions, 12 Sep 2001) (Link has now expired)
"It is now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury. Councillors expenses?"
Memo sent by Jo Moore at 2.55pm on September 11.
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NEWSFLASH: Terrorism fear after second plane crashes into Trade Centre
A second plane has now crashed into the second tower of the World Trade Centre in New York. There are fears that this is a terrorist attack. (Ananova, 11 Sep 2001)
Spinning out of control
Ever since it came to power in 1997 the New Labour government has faced criticism about its reliance on spin doctors. (BBC, 13 Mar 2001)
Campbell and Powell too powerful, say MPs
THE power of Tony Blair's leading advisers, Alastair Campbell and Jonathan Powell, should be curbed, a report by MPs says today. (Telegraph, 13 Mar 2001)
Government advisers under fire
MPs have called for a review of the powers wielded by the government's special advisers, including the prime minister's official spokesman Alastair Campbell. (BBC, 13 Mar 2001)
Master of spin trapped in his own web
IMMEDIATELY after Peter Mandelson resigned last Wednesday, Tony Blair lavished praise on him, saying the former Northern Ireland Secretary was a "bigger man than many of his critics". He condemned William Hague in the bitterest terms for attacking Mr Mandelson. (Telegraph, 29 Jan 2001)
No 10's faithful watchdog shows classic danger signals
ALASTAIR CAMPBELL thinks of himself as His Master's Voice. It is easy to see how Bernard Ingham fitted into this famous image, one ear ever cocked to the tones of Thatcher blaring from the gramophone trumpet, though Ingham was less like the Jack Russell type of the original than a Yorkshire terrier: very hairy, especially round the eyes, and given to much barking and growling. (Telegraph, 14 Jul 2000)
Limit spin doctors, committee insists
The Neill Committee on Standards in Public Life has launched its annual report reiterating concerns that the government has failed to limit the increase in the number of its spin doctors. (BBC, 14 Jun 2000)
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