‘Finest spin doctor a PM has ever had’ – Ingham dies aged 90
SIR BERNARD INGHAM, the press secretary to Margaret Thatcher who stood by her from her first days in office to her last, has died at the age of 90 after a short illness, his family have said.
No one was better at working out what Mrs Thatcher thought without even having to ask her. His natural, direct, Yorkshire way of speaking was better suited to a middle-market tabloid than hers, but his grasp of her inner thoughts and prejudices was authentic.
On rare occasions, it was too authentic. Horrified European reaction to her Bruges speech in September 1988 derived not from the words spoken, but from Ingham’s interpretation of them.
She had certainly intended to stir the pot, but not to deliver an “anti-european speech”. Because of Ingham’s interpretation the tabloids made it so, taking one of the first steps along the path towards Brexit. In that era, Ingham was regarded by many (especially among ministers) as unacceptably biased in press briefings on her behalf.
By modern standards, however, he was a model of propriety. He was a member of the permanent civil service, not a political appointment, and he had nothing to do with the Conservative party (he was, by background, Labour). He did not interfere with policy.
What impressed us journalists with whom he dealt was his grasp, his toughness and his humour. We were always a bit frightened of his anger, used to great tactical effect and vividly expressed by the movement of his vast eyebrows.
Mrs Thatcher did not have time or inclination to read newspapers. Instead she relied on Ingham’s morning digests.
His Cabinet detractors said he concealed bad news from her. I have read hundreds of these reports and I do not think that is true. His summaries were crisp, accurate and covered the critics as much as the supporters.
Ingham was ultra-loyal to Mrs Thatcher, but not afraid of her. The night before she went to see George HW Bush at Camp David in 1989, she announced she would tell the president the real danger of a united Germany, thus assailing his chief policy.
“All right, prime minister,” Ingham told her, “If that’s what you’re going to say I’m going to go outside and commit suicide.” So she didn’t, and he didn’t.
He probably had not heard of the word at the time, but Ingham was probably the most effective spin doctor any British prime minister ever had.
‘His anger was used to great effect, expressed by the movement of his vast eyebrows’