Tony Blair has appointed Alastair Campbell to a new official post in the Labour Party with a brief to embark on a fresh round of personal attacks on the Tory leader, Michael Howard. Mr Campbell's title is Head of Strategic Election Communications.
Mr Blair's controversial former director of communications is now second only to Alan Milburn in Labour's election campaign.
It is a dramatic return to full-time politics for a man who left the Government amid pledges by Mr Blair to abandon "spin". Mr Blair has acted despite what is widely reckoned to be serious damage caused by Mr Campbell's public battle with the BBC over the David Kelly affair. Labour declined to reveal what Mr Campbell is being paid but his salary in his former Downing Street post was around £120,000. A No 10 spokesman insisted that no portion of his current pay is to be met by the taxpayer.
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