His account of the so-called Black Rod Affair is problematic. He records that the Spectator article that set off the controversy appeared on Wednesday 10 April 2002. However, the magazine did not even appear on the newsstands till the following day. It seems likely that Campbell’s account of the Queen Mother controversy is, at least in part, designed to cast a smooth retrospective gloss on events and rebut the charge that Downing Street sought to interfere with the funeral arrangements.

Campbell’s entry on Sunday 31 March, the day after the Queen Mother died, is extremely suspicious. He records that Tony Blair ‘was volunteering to do more extended interviews today, but we took the judgment it would look like he was muscling’. The phrase ‘muscling in’, used in connection with the Queen Mother’s funeral, could be found in the headline to my Spectator article in the magazine dated 13 April, which ignited the national controversy. After that it was widely used as code for the whole affair. Beforehand it was not current at all in connection with the Queen Mother. It is therefore a remarkable coincidence that Campbell should have dreamed up the phrase in his private diary two weeks earlier. My guess is that he may have inserted this phrase later.

There is plenty of evidence that other sections of this book (particularly those dealing with controversial issues) were inserted with the benefit of hindsight: there are odd factual errors, as well as sudden changes of tense and mood. This is a pity. The Campbell Diaries, if left unspun and unvarnished, have the ambition and scope to be an important historical record of our times, a compelling human drama, and to provide a unique insight into our contemporary political predicament.

Blackwell Bookshop

Purchase your copy here, 10% off RRP