Alastair Campbell: You Ask The Questions

Your character seems to exemplify that of many in public life for whom the only motive is to compete and to conquer. Do you recognise yourself in this description? MICHAEL LORD, by email

Not the only motive, no, but politics is a competitive environment and I have been driven all my adult life by the belief that for the country to go in the right direction, we had to get rid of the Tories and replace them with a Labour government that could stay the course and deliver real change. I am very proud of the part I played in helping Tony Blair bring that about, turning Labour into a winning party and one capable of using power to make change for the better.

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Which is the more important virtue: loyalty or honesty? KATY PATRICK, by email

They go together. A loyal friend is a truthful friend.

Do you hate journalists? CHRIS FLETCHER, by email

No, I still have friends who are journalists. What I don't like is the culture of negativity now prevalent across so much of our broadcast and print media.

Do you not think Blair would have been better to attack the Daily Mail rather than The Independent? PETER HARRISON, Brighton

I totally agreed with the argument in Tony's speech, which was that the new media culture was not at all healthy, but yes, I agree with you. He and I had our differences from time to time and one was that I felt he should have done more earlier on to highlight the culture of negativity, and the impact of the changing news media not just on politics but on what we are and how we feel as a country. I certainly think the Mail is the worst of the lot. So does he, but perhaps he didn't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing it.

What made you cry in your time at Downing Street? STEPHEN JONES, Durham

That is a really good question and I think it is the first time I have been asked it. When I was transcribing my diaries, one of the things that surprised me was how I cried fairly often. I think I came to understand that Private Eye's "tired and emotional" didn't have to mean drunk! Sometimes crying was a release after a period of intense stress and activity. On the eve of the election in 1997, for example, I cried after phoning home and telling my kids we were going to win. There were specific events and incidents which reduced me to tears at points, including a number of deaths, all related in the book.

Was the experience of watching Neil Kinnock being fed to the right-wing wolves a formative experience for you? YASMIN BUTT, by email

Definitely, and also the way the press treated Labour before that. Go back and read some of the coverage of Nye Bevan when he was trying to create the NHS. Parts of the media made parts of the public almost phobic about Neil, who is a great guy, and I was determined to do what I could to ensure Tony did not get the same treatment.

What do you think of The Thick of It? SIMON KING, London N11

Very funny, though they would be better making Malcolm's sidekick less of a clone and more of a restraining hand who fails to restrain. That'll be £15,000 plus VAT.

Do you ever watch BBC News or for that matter any other BBC programmes since the Hutton inquiry and its aftermath? NADEEM AFZAL, by email

The BBC are screening three hours of programming to coincide with publication of my book, so I am certainly not boycotting them. I don't watch the news, or read the papers, in the same way as when I was in Downing Street. Twenty-four-hour news, on most days, has just become journalists talking to each other. I watched the TB-GB handover on the BBC, and thought Huw Edwards was superb as the anchorman, but there is too much pontificating from reporters. I have changed my life in lots of ways and one is a new motto: "Read books not newspapers, listen to music not news." I quite like Radio Five, but find the constant "text your views" overdone. I watch sport mostly, so I probably see Sky more than the BBC. I have thought a lot about why my relations with the BBC became so bad, and I do wish things had not turned out the way they did.

What do you say to the people like Melanie Phillips who claim David Kelly was murdered? PETER FALKES, by email

I don't say anything to her because I don't talk to the Daily Mail. I think one of the problems the Mail has is that they have to go more and more over the top to make what they think is an impact. It goes without saying that factually, she was wrong.

Why did Blair go from being a true friend of the Palestinians to becoming one of the most pro-Israeli prime ministers in British history? MAJID HUSSAIN, by email

He is a friend of Israel but also passionately committed to a two-state solution and driven by a sense of injustice over the Palestinians' fate. That is why he has taken up the position of Middle East envoy.

It is alleged that you fell out with Cherie Blair over Cheriegate. Is this true? ROGER PHILLIPS, Exeter

The Peter Foster episode was a very difficult period, and some difficult things were said. But I think Cherie took a lot of unfair flak from the media, and the difficulties of that role are not always easily handled. This week I bumped into Carole Caplin for the first time in years and we had a really nice chat. I was very wary of Carole, but TB always felt I went over the top about her. Maybe I did. I warned Carole I said a few harsh things in my diaries, but a few years on, we both had a different perspective of each other and I enjoyed seeing her again.

Your wife is a valiant defender of comprehensive schools. Were you embarrassed when the Blairs didn't choose their local comp? HADRIAN SLATER, by email

Fiona is not actually my wife, though we have been together for 27 years, and our children find it hilarious that the Telegraph call her " Alastair Campbell's girlfriend". We are both passionate supporters of comps and, as has been well documented, Tony and I had a bit of a fallout over his sons going to the Oratory, and one of the points I made was that their local school would have had an enormous boost if they had gone there. But he was absolutely clear it was the right school for them and in the end that was that.

So whatever happened to those weapons Saddam could fire within 45 minutes? FELICITY MOTION, London

I don't know. What I do know is that the point to which you refer was included in the WMD dossier in good faith, based on intelligence that was thought to be reliable. At the time it was not a controversial point. It became so following the BBC report which set in train the events that led to the Hutton inquiry, which cleared the Government. The reason the Prime Minister wanted to share some of the intelligence on Saddam's WMD was because what he saw made him more not less concerned about the threat posed, and never forget Saddam had used WMD on his own people in the past.

Has the fact that the Blair administration will be forever associated with the word "spin" show that you were not as good at news management as you might have believed? STUART FERGUSON, London

The Blair administration will be associated with many things - three elections, the longest period of sustained economic growth any of us can remember, getting people back to work, record investment in reformed public services, a minimum wage, peace in Northern Ireland, enormous constitutional change, getting rid of Milosevic and Saddam, saving democracy in Sierra Leone, making Britain fairer and more tolerant. I could go on and on and every one of those points of progress is more important than "spin" .

Is David Cameron just shamelessly imitating you and Blair? Is he any good at it? MIGUEL CARLOS, London E2

I think he is good at my side of the job - presentation - but not good at the stuff that really matters - policy, and decision making. The Tories have thought for years that we won by presentation. Alan Clark said to me it allowed them to avoid facing up to real decisions. Cameron is still ducking real decisions and when he does make them, he either makes the wrong one - as on Europe - or he gets in a muddle because he doesn't know what he really stands for - as on grammar schools.

Setting aside your obvious political leanings, what is your prediction for the outcome of the next general election? JOHN HUMPHREYS, Milton Keynes

What - THE John Humphreys? I think I'm seeing you on Monday. I think in part because of the reality in the previous answer, Labour will win. New Labour is the dominant political position. The handover was superbly managed. Gordon can represent both continuity and change, and I think his strength v Cameron's weakness will be an important dividing line. Also, the economy is always the most important foundation in an election, and Gordon's record on that is superb. Cameron's is as Norman Lamont's right hand man during Black Wednesday.

Are you proud of your early career as a writer of pornographic tales? CLAIRE BOND, Edinburgh

I'm neither proud nor ashamed of it, just a bit embarrassed when I see it, as when a comedian drove round Westminster with an ad-van with some of my writings on the side!

What is your biggest regret about your time with Blair? JOANNE WILLS, London

I regret that my relations with the media became as poisonous as they did. The last period up to David Kelly's death and the subsequent inquiry was probably the worst time of my life, alongside my breakdown and my father's death. Part of me regrets not seeing it through with Tony from start to finish, though I know it was the right thing to leave when I did. But I really admire Jonathan Powell and Liz Lloyd and the others who stuck it right through.

To what extent did having a nervous breakdown change you? Did the experience make you stronger? NIGEL ROOT, by email

Very much so, though I know I was one of the lucky ones. It also gave me a yardstick by which to judge stress and pressure. Often I would feel under intense strain but then say to myself: "This is not as bad as 1986." It also taught me that however big the setback, you can always fight back, rebuild.

How will you want history to judge you and your role? COLIN WILLIAMSON, Belgium

I'm not sure history will pay that much attention. The historic figure of recent years is Tony Blair, and I played a part in supporting him, helping him to win, and helping him to govern and become in my view a great reforming prime minister. Now Gordon Brown has the chance to become the second great historic figure of this era of Labour power. The transformation of our politics and our country has been enormous and I am immensely proud - and privileged - to have been involved in that.

You are an atheist. Tony Blair is a devout Christian. Did that make you feel uncomfortable? NEIL PRIOR, Maidstone

No - I am not anti religion and I respect his and others' faith. On the day we visited Dunblane with John Major following the school massacre, I asked TB what his God would make of this. He said just because the killer is bad does not mean God is not good. We talked about religion a fair bit. I think it means more to him than most people realise, partly because he is not remotely sanctimonious, like some religious people are. He always said that if I was religious I would probably be an Islamic fundamentalist so it was probably for the best I don't do God.

The Blair Years: Extracts from the Alastair Campbell Diaries is published today by Hutchinson, priced £25.00 hardback. Campbell will be signing copies at Hatchards, London on 18 July at 12.30, and at an event with Foyles at the Institute of Education on 19 July at 7.30pm. For more details see www.alastaircampbelldiaries.co.uk