Funeral complaint dropped by No10

Downing Street today dropped an official complaint to press watchdogs over reports about Tony Blair's role during the Queen Mother's lying-in-state.

It had brought the action against the Evening Standard, the Mail on Sunday and the Spectator over claims that staff at No10 had contacted House of Commons authorities to try to gain Mr Blair a more significant role in the ceremonials in April. No10 today accepted the case with the Press Complaints Commission had been "resolved" and the file on the affair was now closed.

"We see no need to take the matter further," Mr Blair's communications director Alastair Campbell said.

Mr Campbell had taken the affair to the PCC in what was seen as an important challenge to the media reporting of government. Evening Standard editor Veronica Wadley said: "We are pleased that the Prime Minister has withdrawn his complaint to the PCC over our article on his involvement in the Queen Mother's lying-in-state.

"It is a decision which is very important for freedom of the press and represents a realisation by Downing Street that the complaint should never have been made in the first place."

Boris Johnson, editor of the Spectator, said: "This is a ludicrous and humiliating climbdown by Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell. When the Spectator first broke the story they demanded a correction, an apology and a sum of damages. They've now had to throw their tanks into reverse in the most spectacular way.

"The Prime Minister has simply run up the white flag. There's been no damages paid, no apology and no correction.

"Downing Street shamefully tried to use the PCC to suppress the truth, and the more the affair was investigated the clearer it was that Tony Blair tried to muscle in on the Queen Mother's lying-in-state.

"The nub of it is 'we won'. We have been completely vindicated. It's not my place to call for the resignation of Alastair Campbell, but why not? He's not only damaging his party he is damaging political life."

Evening Standard columnist Peter Oborne, who broke the story, said: "This is a 100 per cent vindication for the Spectator, the Mail on Sunday and the Evening Standard. Our story was completely true and the reason why Downing Street has withdrawn their complaint is because they know the story was true.

"They tried to bully and intimidate in order to suppress the story. It was a disgraceful episode and I find the behaviour of No10 completely shocking."

The investigations and negotiations which went towards producing today's decision by the PCC were revealed in an exchange of letters between Mr Campbell and the commission's deputy director Timothy Toulmin.

Mr Toulmin wrote to Mr Campbell on 7 June, stating: "It seems that all the parties are agreed on the fact that there were contacts between No10 civil servants and Black Rod's office over what was expected of the Prime Minister in relation to The Queen Mother's lying-in-state."

What was at issue, Mr Toulmin added, was the interpretation placed on phone calls between No10 and the Commons authorities.

Mr Toulmin continued: "Regardless of what investigations we mount into this, it is my view that the PCC will never be in a position fully to ascertain the facts and this issue will remain a matter largely of interpretation."

He went on, effectively offering Mr Campbell a deal: "As your main concern has always been to have it agreed and accepted that the Prime Minister did nothing wrong or disrespectful, I wonder if on that basis you would consider that this is a suitable outcome to the complaint and that the matter is now resolved accordingly?

"If that is the case, we would not pursue the matter any further and close the file."

In his reply, dated yesterday, Mr Campbell admitted: "I agree that none of the publications seeks to make the case in the submissions of defence to our complaint that the Prime Minister was involved in any way in the discussions that took place about the arrangements.

"I also fully understand the difficulties that face the PCC in a case such as this, where newspapers are relying on sources they wish to protect and whose account is at odds with that put forward by the No10 civil servants.

"For our part, as our evidence to you makes clear, we believe the civil servants did nothing more than seek to establish what was expected of the Prime Minister.

"They are professional career civil servants whose loyalty is to the government of the day, whatever its political persuasion, and whose honesty and trustworthiness the Prime Minister does not doubt. Based upon the newspapers' own evidence, let alone ours, it is my view that any adjudication would find that the Prime Minister had nothing whatever to do with these contacts, had never sought to enhance his role or exploit The Queen Mother's death in any way.

"It also seems to me that your investigation has already proved that point and accordingly we see no need to pursue the matter further."

The commission's acting chairman, George Pinker, said: "As with all complaints, the PCC has sought amicably to resolve the matter.

"Following the submissions from the newspapers concerned, while it is agreed there was contact between No 10 civil servants and Black Rod's office to discuss what was expected of the Prime Minister in the proceedings, all of the papers make clear that they accept that the Prime Minister was not involved in any of these contacts.

"Following an approach by the PCC, Downing Street has now indicated that it considers the matter resolved on this basis and the file has therefore been closed."

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