Alastair, son of a Pennine vet, read modern languages at Cambridge before entering journalism. His career in the media began to flourish when he became political editor of the Daily Mirror. During this time he was one of then Labour leader Neil Kinnock's closest advisers. Mr Campbell resigned to become spokesman for Tony Blair, then leader of the opposition. With the Labour election victory in 1997, he became the Prime Minister's chief press secretary, setting up a formidable Whitehall machine to put over the government's views and try to control the news agenda.
Journalist and former Director of Communications and Strategy for Prime Minister Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell was a key figure behind Mr Blair's rise to power and was often described as "the real Deputy Prime Minister". Mr Campbell also played a key role in drafting the Government dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, the Hutton Report, which was the source of much media interest. On 29 August 2003 he announced his resignation from 10 Downing Street.