Government press teams? I would fire half of them

WHEN I took up my post as chair of the Vaccine Taskforce, I had no idea that working with Government communications teams would be the hardest part of my job. Yet so it proved.

I hadn’t appreciated just how unfocused the many different Government comms teams would prove to be – despite there reportedly being more than 120 people in Business Department comms alone.

On my appointment, I requested a press cuttings service so that I could be briefed on vaccine developments around the world. I was told that the Business press office could not provide this. So, instead we had to rely on a science association, with a total of two comms people, for press cuttings.

It turned out there were no fewer than seven comms teams focused on vaccines across Government. But there appeared to be no coherent communications strategy.

Only those working directly with me actually knew the up-to-date facts about vaccines and what we were doing – yet I’m not aware that any of the comms teams ever engaged with us. Goodness knows where they got their information from.

Later, when untrue allegations were made against me in the media, press officers and special advisers (SPADS) failed to contradict many of them. This meant that false claims were allowed to build up into a fireball. It seemed to me that the SPADS had done their level best to make me a target. As a nonWhitehall outsider, I was exposed, mute and dispensable.

If I had my way, I’d fire half the people dealing with public affairs communications across Government. In the Business Department alone, I cannot see what the 120 comms people achieve. I’d redeploy this talent to more productive ends. This would send a clear signal that the focus is on the delivery of outcomes, rather than spin.