Unleashing Demons

by Craig Oliver

  I traipse through to the private office with Graeme. We agree it’s an interesting approach from IDS. He’s looking for ways to destabilise the Government.

  In the end, our answer is a rather wet. A non-denial denial, which won’t help.

  I get back to my office to find James Harding, the BBC’s director of news, keen to talk to me. He says he saw the PM and George at Alan Parker’s sixtieth birthday party and both told him we wouldn’t be doing any programmes with them.

  He criticises me, saying, ‘I think we need to have a relationship where you tell me that kind of thing. I was genuinely in the dark about this.’

  I’m surprised. I got him in to see the PM. We said we wouldn’t do blue-on-blue programmes. He said they weren’t in a position to tell Leave who they put up – so we were at an impasse.

  He then makes an offer I thought he wasn’t prepared to make. He’s suggesting Gove do a Question Time with a studio audience on 15 June – and that we do one with Nigel Farage on the same programme, but facing the audience separately, on 19 June. I agree to discuss it with DC tomorrow – though I doubt either of us will think giving Farage such a golden opportunity four nights before the vote will make sense.

  The next morning I’m in the trenches with the BBC from early on.

  They are leading on an IDS speech. They mention our letter from senior figures in US administrations going back forty years – all saying we should remain in the EU. But there is no mention of another letter from five previous NATO Secretary Generals. If I had to choose which they would report, it would be the Sec Gens letter, because it destroys the Leave case that we don’t need the EU because of NATO.

  I call the famous Hotline – which simply rings out.

  I call the Millbank editor. No answer.

  I finally get hold of the radio bulletins editor, who was, understandably, in the shower.

  I point out that Leave make the case of NATO as the only guarantor of peace in Europe. This is a demolition of their case – why isn’t it up there?

  He seems to agree – and says it will be on the 8 a.m.

  When I get in, DC is feeling a little uneasy about the response to the speech yesterday. He clearly feels stung by the hyperbolic headlines – claiming he was suggesting we could face World War Three if we left. Of course, he said nothing of the kind and it is a gross misrepresentation of a thoughtful speech. We’ve been around the block enough to know that often it’s not what you have actually said that damns you, but what others claim you said.

  In another reminder of the topsy-turvy world we are inhabiting, he says, ‘I had to read the bloody Guardian to get balanced coverage of what I actually said!’

  He also feels we signalled he was doing the speech too early, allowing Boris to cobble something together and be given equal coverage for it in another ‘Clash of the Titans’ TV treatment.

  George points out, ‘This is now a daily battle. It’s like the general election.’

  DC is irritated by his/our self-imposed decision to fight by Marquess of Queensberry rules, ‘On IDS they [Leave] would say he was a washed-up politician. I mean look at what IDS said about John Major – saying he had a failed economic policy.’

  We are all clear that we have to get back to the single market.

  Having been won round to the security speech, I now see that no one really wants to hear or buy our security story. Detail on data sharing and the European Arrest Warrant is too abstract.

  I email James Harding to let him know we’re saying ‘No’ to his Sunday night before the referendum proposal. DC and I talked about it – and rejected it.

  He calls almost immediately and asks why we won’t do it. I explain it’s not appealing to hand such a high-profile opportunity to Farage so close to the vote. He isn’t happy. I suspect he thinks I’m playing games. I’m not. There’s just nothing in it for us.

  Later in the day I talk to DC and suggest we go with ITV and Sky and reject the BBC. He agrees, saying he may well be open to a BBC programme in the final days, but let’s see how it goes.

  I head to Stronger In, where we run through the final month of the campaign. We squeeze around the table that is too big for the room.

  While I’m there, I get a call asking me to come to the private office.

  I’m obviously unable to attend. When I get back, it is over. But the PM seeks me out. He has been caught on camera at Buckingham Palace talking to the Queen, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Chris Grayling and John Bercow saying we are building up the corruption summit, ‘Actually, we’ve got some fantastically corrupt countries like Afghanistan and Nigeria coming.’ The Archbishop looks uncomfortable.

  DC says, ‘I am sorry. I look terrible. I have a glass of champagne in my hand. I was trying to fill the silence. No one speaks at these things … no one warned me. I didn’t realise this stuff was going to be released.’

  The way I see it – he may have been a little undiplomatic, but does anyone think Nigeria isn’t corrupt?

  I suggest we point out to journalists that the leaders of both countries referred to have written in a book accompanying the summit about how corruption is endemic.

  We disappear into a meeting to discuss the campaign. Andrew is here to run through more polling.

  He tells us, ‘Lots of people say leaving the EU is bad for me, but I’ll vote Brexit.’ That seems to be irrational to all of us. Surely, as in the Scottish referendum, these people will see that it could be an act of self-harm leaving and come back?

  The one worry is that the statement, ‘The EU needs us more than we need them’ is still working for them.

  Tonight the PM watches the six o’clock news and texts me his amazement that the story was fine. James Robbins did a lead story on his gaffe – basically saying the PM didn’t say anything that anyone didn’t think was true and No. 10 is nothing other than relaxed.

  As I leave, I get a call from Simon Case. The Queen is about to knock us off the news. It’s emerged that she, too, was caught on camera – talking to the Gold Commander on the Chinese state visit, saying the Chinese had been ‘very rude’ to our ambassador.

  Apparently the cameraman, who the Palace have been employing for years, forgot to turn off his microphone. There is hours of footage of the garden party that has been put out there, in which anyone could have said God knows what.

  Chapter 20

  Welcome to the Labour Party

  ON WEDNESDAY 11 May, the ‘gaffes’ story is still leading the news. In terms of the referendum, our decision to put Gordon Brown front and centre appears to be misfiring.

  He is supposed to be working with us, but is running an idiosyncratic media strategy, which involves him briefing the Guardian and the Mirror a story about how being a member of the EU helps crack down on tax avoidance. Quite how this will persuade Labour supporters to vote Remain, or get a huge amount of attention, is beyond me.

  I am assured by Labour figures at Stronger In that this works pretty well with Labour voters. Really?

  I’m also concerned by the extent to which it’s being claimed in the Leave media that the PM said there would be World War Three if we left the EU. He didn’t – or anything close to it. It’s a fiction that’s now being reported as fact. What was a long and thoughtful speech about how our security is enhanced by being members of the EU is now a gross caricature.

  Boris is launching his bus tour today. Labour’s Gisela Stuart is next to him in most shots, looking like a hostage, being used to pretend they have widespread Labour support. As the day goes on, we see him in various locations – waving asparagus, licking an ice-cream and doing other photo-friendly things.

  In comparison, Brown looks dour. There’s concern in No. 10 that we are being forced to rely on Labour figures who are falling flat – while Boris looks energised.

  I’ve been invited to a dinner at Roland Rudd’s house. I find it by spotting the ‘Stronger In’ posters in his windows.

  He is a kind and generous host, with a range of guests from
Chuka Umunna to the film director and screenwriter, Christopher McQuarrie. I’m relieved to be sitting next to Christopher, because I can chat to him about movies, instead of having to talk about the referendum. The conversation ranges from his screenplay for The Usual Suspects to the fact that the Coen Brothers’ Miller’s Crossing is one of our favourite films.

  Halfway through the evening, Roland taps his wine glass and suggests that we all talk about the campaign. ‘Oh God!’ I think. I’m sitting in a room including opposition politicians and George Parker from the FT. But for the most part, I worry about the Americans sitting round the table, who mustn’t have a clue.

  Roland begins the conversation by talking about how tough it is responding to people who are willing to use obscure and questionable claims. Chuka Umunna chips in, saying he wants to see more passion – and challenges me to have Conservatives attack Conservatives.

  I’m asked to speak next. I reply that it may be hard for people who are ‘ardent internationalists’ to understand, but we are fighting for the ‘Heads vs Hearts’ group, who just don’t believe the EU is all wonderful. What works for them is hard facts and we just have to be practical about that. Several people around the table join me in support of this course of action.

  When I get back home, I catch up with how the news that we are doing a programme with Farage on ITV is going down. Leave are spitting tacks.

  The Sun’s political editor has tweeted: ‘Got to give it to Craig Oliver tonight. Has managed to get PM out of a blue-on-blue, and royally shaft Vote Leave and the BBC at the same time.’

  I look at a bunch of raging tweets from Leave and go to sleep.

  On Thursday morning I wake up to the Leave campaign appearing to have lost the plot.

  In a moment of late-night intemperance, their press team sent round an extraordinary response threatening ITV and No. 10:

  The Establishment has tried everything from spending taxpayers’ money on pro-EU propaganda to funding the IN campaign via Goldman Sachs. The polls have stayed fifty–fifty. They’re now fixing the debates to shut out the official campaign. ITV is led by people like Robert Peston, who campaigned for Britain to join the Euro. ITV has lied to us in private, while secretly stitching up a deal with Cameron to stop Boris Johnson or Michael Gove debating the issues properly. ITV has effectively joined the official IN campaign and there will be consequences for its future – the people in No. 10 won’t be there for long.

  It’s clear the ITV hacks are shocked that they are being threatened with ‘consequences’ by a group of people who could find themselves running the country. Robert Peston says he thinks someone has hacked the Leave account – he has never campaigned to join the Euro. Another tells me Dominic Cummings was ‘unbelievably pissed off last night’.

  I talk to Michael Grade, a Conservative peer, who is a highly respected voice in the broadcast world, having had positions at the top of the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. He’s outraged that Leave are threatening ITV and says he will put out a statement.

  It’s also cheering to see Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, knocking the ball out of the park at a press conference. He says there could be a string of terrible occurrences, ranging from a technical recession to higher prices. It’s now at the top of the BBC’s running order.

  Graeme Wilson and I walk through St James’s Park to Lancaster House to brief the PM ahead of his press conference at the corruption summit. The sun is shining, people are in deckchairs, and it feels as if no one is worrying about the prospect of Brexit.

  As we approach, we pass a large demonstration. Several of them are with megaphones shouting something I can’t quite understand. They are watched by a group of bemused policemen in shirt sleeves.

  Lancaster House is the most ornate of Government buildings. We jog up its grand staircase and find our way to the bilateral room, where the PM is waiting. We could be in the Élysée Palace or Versailles. He is standing – looking like he’s had enough of being in a stuffy room on a hot day. There are three subjects we need to brief him on:

  Carney.

  A report pointing out the number of National Insurance numbers handed out to migrants is higher than previously thought.

  Leave attacking us and ITV over the Question Time programme.

  Carney is a simple opportunity to put the ball in the back of the net. The Ninos story is going far better than we could have hoped, and I can only think there is too much news around for it to be covered properly. On debates, DC makes a joke about when he heard an aide to a Justice Secretary had been threatening a national TV station, he thought he was hearing about one of the countries in the corruption summit, not the UK.

  Meanwhile Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, comes out and says there are no good arguments for Brexit – and the forecast ranges from ‘bad to very, very bad’.

  I can’t imagine how the last few days must feel to the Leave campaign – a constant pummelling, leading to more and more errors (forced and unforced).

  Surely they feel on the ropes?

  By Sunday, it feels like Leave are making even more unforced errors.

  Boris has written a piece saying that for 2,000 years people have been trying to unite Europe, including Napoleon and Hitler. The EU is doing the same.

  This seems curious after his Obama ‘part-Kenyan’ quote. There’s no shortage of people queueing up to have a go. Lord Bramall, who is in his nineties and stormed the beaches on D-Day before eventually becoming Chief of the Defence Staff, is particularly critical.

  Mark Carney is on Marr. A smooth performance – with calm authority telling the interviewer when he is simply wrong. His best quotes are that the Brexiteers are in a state of denial, and saying there will be a material impact on growth and inflation.

  I celebrate the evening of my birthday by driving in to work for the Sunday meeting. Kate gives me sympathy, saying it’s hardly a great way to celebrate.

  Before we go in, I get a call from James Harding. He tells me the BBC is now prepared to offer the PM a Question Time-style programme on his own, with Gove doing a separate one on his own. DC agrees. It has taken months, but we have finally reached an agreement.

  The Sunday meeting has an odd feel, because it’s been a hot day and everyone is dressed in summer clothes. George reads a section from a speech he is planning, which includes detailing everyone who is supporting the case for Remain.

  He concludes, ‘This is not a conspiracy. This is a consensus.’

  On Monday 16 May, the Leave campaign get a letter published in the Telegraph saying 300 businesses support them.

  The Remain campaign response has been to mock it as underwhelming – nowhere near the legions of businesses supporting us. The PM and George question this approach, suggesting we should have woken up to an entirely discredited letter, with people up all night to achieve our goal.

  I’m not convinced. The morning bulletins’ lead EU story is what the PM has, unusually, written in the Daily Mirror. The letter isn’t much covered, though we all understand we must not let Leave argue us to a draw on business, when we have such a clear lead on the issue.

  There are worrying signs that the Electoral Commission guidance, warning businesses, institutions and charities about campaigning too explicitly, is having a real chilling effect. Leading figures have contacted us to say their lawyers are spooking them. They also say there’s an unpleasantness to the debate that was putting people off, with some finding there’s a cost to speaking up, because Leave is so angry with whoever does. In the City, it’s believed the damage to the financial services sector would be vast – with no reason to see why the EU would allow UK-based companies to have passporting rights allowing them to operate freely in the event of Brexit.

  I head to North House for a board meeting. There is an endless, though very competent presentation on the ‘get out the vote’ strategy.

  I’m asked to run through our media strategy – and then we are into a debates meeting.

&n
bsp; We sit in a smaller room, where sandwiches and crisps are provided courtesy of David Sainsbury. We run through the debates. I tell Will the PM is signed up on the BBC now. I detect there’s a bit of a question about whether we should have engaged with them on that.

  The main sticking point is whether it is wise to allow Angela Eagle to be the Labour voice in the final Wembley debate. Lucy Thomas, a former BBC presenter and the campaign’s sharp deputy, wants Ruth Davidson to represent Conservatives – and Sadiq Khan to represent Labour. Her point is both of them have a touch of political stardust about them at the moment, following the recent elections. As Ruth puts it more bluntly, she is too similar to Angela Eagle, and it will look like we are making a heavy-handed point.

  We go round the houses … but don’t really get anywhere.

  I come out of the meeting to find a copy of a letter from the company Serco has been briefed to the Mail. It is dated 8 February – just before the end of the renegotiation. It offers ways of helping get big business to support staying in. The bulk of the letter is about prisons and in the top right it indicates it was shared with the Ministry of Justice. The suspicions about who leaked it are clear. It will be portrayed as part of the conspiracy – big business working with Government before a deal was done.

  We leave Tuesday open for Labour again.

  There’s been endless messing around about getting the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, out there. The first part of our day has been entirely built around him. We’ve heard he’s planning a full morning media round. Then that he isn’t.

  I point out that we can’t keep clearing space for Labour for them not to deliver … though I know they have no influence on the people who are supposed to be their colleagues.

  Then we hear he’s going to say both the Leave and Remain sides have failed to make a positive case. Of course, it will be read as an attack – rather than making a case for remaining.