The SPAD Apples

John Prescott writes:

The conviction of David Cameron’s former media adviser Andy Coulson over phone hacking highlights growing concern about special ­political advisers – SPADs.

They are supposed to be their ministers’ eyes and ears in ­government, helping to deliver policy and giving good advice. But they are now wielding far too much power.

Labour had 74 special advisers in the last government. Cameron and Nick Clegg said they’d cut the number and save money. What did they do? They increased them to 98.

When I was Deputy PM I had two SPADs. My successor Clegg now has 18, costing more than £1million.

Even Jesus capped his advisers at 12.

The total pay bill for special Advisers now exceeds £7.2million a year. All funded by the taxpayer.

Advisers can do a good job. Harold Wilson introduced them to offer a different view to civil servants.

But their growth in number and influence has become much more political – less about policy and more about getting good PR for their bosses.

They have too much power over civil ­servants, government ­departments and even elected ministers.

When the coalition got in I was targeted by Tory SPADs from Eric Pickles’ office, who accessed records of government credit cards from my department and gave them to the Press – even though I never personally used the cards.

And when they were warned in a letter by Cabinet Secretary Gus O’Donnell over the incident, Pickles’ people simply re-edited it, took out the warning and sent it – without Gus’s knowledge.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s SPAD Adam Smith was forced to resign after he became “way too close” to a Murdoch lobbyist when News International was making an £8billion bid for BSkyB.

The other week we saw Theresa May’s SPAD Fiona Cunningham sacked after briefing against Gove, no doubt to help her boss become the next leader.

Then Gove’s former SPAD Dominic Cummings attacked the PM as a “bumbling man with no sense of purpose”, Nick Clegg as “a goner” and Cameron’s chief of staff Ed Llewellyn as a “classic third-rate kicked-down sycophant presiding over a shambolic court”.

He still advises Gove and ­allegedly signs in to No 10 as Osama Bin Laden.

These advisers are out of control and few checks are made on them.

Even Cameron’s ­ hiring of Coulson was done with the lightest of security checks – despite the fact he’d left the News of the World after a reporter was jailed for phone hacking.

Increasingly we’re seeing more of these appointed and unaccountable advisers bullying their way around government, thinking they’re better than the elected bosses they’re supposed to work for.

This Government must do all it can to protect the impartiality of the civil service to crack down on these SPAD apples once and for all.

Those guilty of bullying and ­malicious briefing should be banned from Parliament and all Government departments.

I also note that many of these special advisers come straight from university after working for an MP, with no real life experience. 

They then go on to become members of ­Parliament too.

I like the suggestion that before becoming a parliamentary candidate you should do at least five years working outside the Westminster bubble.

But don’t worry – I wouldn’t make it retrospective.