Norman Tebbit: Tory media attack dog was a 'moaner' against broadcasters, said spin doctor

'I am afraid Mr Tebbit has acquired a reputation with some broadcasters as simply a moaner - this does no good'

Norman Tebbit, the media attack dog of successive Conservative governments, was criticised by the party’s chief spin doctor for being a “moaner” against broadcasters.

Bernard Ingham, Margaret Thatcher’s pugnacious press secretary, warned that party chairman Mr Tebbit’s abrasive style had become counter-productive as her government tried to re-assert its authority following the Westland affair in 1986.

In a briefing to the Prime Minister on efforts to sharpen up ministers’ media performance, released by the National Archives in Kew, west London, Mr Ingham wrote: “In my experience the media, and not least the BBC’s Today programme, welcome advice, put in a constructive way, about where they have got their facts wrong.

“This is quite different from moaning subjectively about programmes. I am afraid Mr Tebbit has acquired a reputation with some broadcasters as simply a moaner. This does no good.”