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Watch: Alastair Campbell’s Newsnight meltdown

Newsnight

Oh dear. It seems that the king of spin’s onetime winning touch has deserted him. The omnipresent Alastair Campbell popped up again on Newsnight to continue his latest ‘forever war’ – this time the never-ending crusade against Brexit. Campbell was up against Alex Phillips, the former MEP, and managed in the space of just seven minutes to patronise both her and the host Victoria Derbyshire in an astonishingly ill-judged performance.

Following a barrage of Campbell’s huffing and puffing, Phillips remarked on the irony of how ‘It’s very rich a man who essentially was part of telling lies to invade a country to accuse me of dishonesty.’ Campbell sneered ‘I think you may have lost the argument there, my dear, if I may patronise you even more’ before raising his voice and turning on Derbyshire: ‘You bring these people on, you never challenge them. You let them talk utter rubbish about Brexit.

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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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