Campbell to coach PM for Piers Morgan appearance

Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell is to coach Gordon Brown ahead of his showpiece interview with Piers Morgan, he said yesterday.

The Prime Minister is due to be grilled for an edition of Piers Morgan's Life Stories, to be screened on 14 February. Mr Campbell said he planned to speak to Brown to offer advice.

He said: "I will definitely pick up the phone to Gordon and say, 'Understand that this is an opportunity. You are not talking to John Humphrys on the Today programme or Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight. You're talking to an audience who would not normally watch a politician. It's a big opportunity to engage in a completely different way'.

"He should be himself. If he's a bit grumpy, be grumpy, if he's feeling cheery, be cheery. It would be a great opportunity for Gordon to engage in a different way from how he's normally filtered and portrayed through the media. If Gordon answers the question and is authentic and says things as they are, the public will engage in that."