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UkraInians in Scotland have accused Alex Salmond of "giving succour" to Vladimir Putin's regime and its undemocratic invasion of their country. A group representing the Ukrainian diaspora in Scotland said that the First Minister should issue a "sincere apology" for his controversial remarks praising the Russian President. Mr Salmond has come under fire after comments that he admired "certain aspects" of Mr Putin's leadership. Michael Ostapko, chairman of the Scottish branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, Scotland, said: "I have been overwhelmed by the reaction of the Ukrainians in Scotland to the comments."They are variously insulted, dismayed...

LONDON - A British Broadcasting Corp. reporter — and not a top government weapons adviser — was the one who suggested during an interview that a top aide of Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) was behind an exaggeration of the threat posed by Iraq (news - web sites), an arms expert said Thursday. That testimony by Olivia Bosch contradicted statements by the BBC's Andrew Gilligan, who said adviser David Kelly suggested the name of key Blair aide Alastair Campbell without prompting. Bosch, testifying at an inquiry into Kelly's apparent suicide, said Kelly told her during a phone...

'How's that fat bastard who does me?' Alastair would ask By Rory Bremner (Filed: 31/08/2003) I first met Alastair Campbell around 10 years ago. In preparing a new television series with John Bird and John Fortune, we decided to ask political journalists and former ministers to lunch to gain some insight into the current political climate. (He wasn't our only source, by the way; television comedy having a rather more rigorous checking procedure than Government intelligence dossiers.) Combative, opinionated and entertaining, Campbell was a natural choice, and sure enough, he dominated the conversation with a massive rant about one of...

So farewell then, Alastair. You were, in the memorable imagery of Andrew Mackinlay MP, questioning the late Dr David Kelly, a kind of fall guy. Alastair Campbell says of course that he was always going to go, but this cannot be the way that he wanted it. Tony Blair’s communications director had been doing what had to be done. His boss could stay clean but dirty work was needed, and now that the doing of it has stained Campbell’s own reputation indelibly, he has to go. He always knew this day would come; and knew, too, that after it had,...

I ONCE ate a salmon mousse that was intended for Alastair Campbell. I got food poisoning and lay in bed for a week. Yet the illness was not the worst thing about this incident. It was the crushing look of disappointment on the face of the journalist who had double-booked lunch and found that, since I had turned up first, he had to eat with me rather than Campbell. I was John Major’s director of research and we were still in power. Campbell worked for only the Leader of the Opposition. Yet already he, not me or any of my...

Alastair Campbell steps down Fri 29 August, 2003 14:41 BST LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair's communications chief Alastair Campbell has resigned, Downing Street said in a statement.