US 'vetted' Blair's speech

US and UK government officials worked closely

America had the final say on what Tony Blair told the Commons during the war on terror, the government's chief spin doctor has revealed.

Communications chief Alastair Campbell said a statement by Mr Blair to the House of Commons, announcing the fall of the Taleban, was altered after advice from the US Government.

The Americans felt we weren't yet in a position to say that the Taleban had fallen, so we changed it, we changed the tone

Alastair Campbell

He said that the Americans were unhappy with the wording of the speech which the prime minister had planned to make to Parliament on 14 November last year.

Alastair Campbell told BBC Radio 4's Edward Stourton: "The prime minister was due to be in Parliament and the news was coming through that the Taleban were just falling and falling.

"We had given Tucker Eskew - the guy from the White House who was working here - a copy of what the prime minister intended to say.

"And the word came back that the Americans felt we weren't yet in a position to say that the Taleban had fallen. So we changed it, we changed the tone.

Daily contact

"That kind of discussion was happening all the time, we were very open about that kind of thing and the lines that we were taking.

"Tucker was at every single morning meeting that I chaired."

Mr Eskew was one of several officials from the White House who worked closely with the British government during the campaign, liaising daily, to co-ordinate the release of information around the world.

New challenges

With Us or Against Us chronicles the progress of the coalition throughout the Afghanistan campaign and analyses the changing diplomatic relations in the wake of the attacks on 11 September.

The last programme in the series, The Problems of Success, examines the swathe of new challenges created by the fall-out from 11 September.

If there is a threat, it has to be dealt with and cannot be ignored

Tony Blair

At the UN, nations worked together to fight terrorism, but when American attention turned to Iraq many countries recoiled.

But America was still able to count on rock-solid support from Britain.

Tony Blair told the programme: "What has changed in relation to Iraq or any other part of the world is the clear understanding that if there is a threat, it has to be dealt with and cannot be ignored.

"And we shouldn't wait until that threat then materialises."

He said Britain's relationship with America was one "based on shared co-operation and values. We share basically the same world perspective and values."

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With Us or Against Us: The Problems of Success was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 17 September 2002.

The programme is available online at the top of this page.