Articles

With thanks to those who have posted it on twitter, allowing me to do a quick cut and paste, here is the interview I did with football’s greatest ever manager for The New Statesman a few years back. ‘Alex Ferguson and Alastair Campbell have been friends for many years. One is the greatest manager in [...]

Posting this piece, which was published on The Guardian’s Comment Is Free this morning, as I watch both home and away ends at Stamford Bridge standing, without apparent risk or inconvenience. – To any football fan who fancies an interesting, neutral weekend away, take a look at the Bundesliga fixtures, and take a trip to [...]

I was asked by twitter to give them a message for their seventh ‘birthday’ and select my ten favourite twitterers. My message for twitter is ‘I like twitter because it enables people to create their own media landscape. I hope it does not become too commercial.’ And here are my top ten, as just tweeted, [...]

At 55, I am lucky enough still to have three generations of women in my family life; an elderly but fit mother, in her 80s; a partner of the same age as me with whom, I worked out the other day, I have now spent around one fifth of my life asleep; and a daughter [...]

With thanks to South London and Maudsley psychiatrist Jonathan Campion, here is a summary of the report I referred to in my debate with Oliver James in yesterday’s Observer. This statistic that 23percent of our health burden comes from mental disorder, compared with 16percent for cancer and cardiovascular, needs to become as well known and [...]

Here is a copy of the debate in today’s Observer between me and psychotherapist Oliver James, arguing for and against major employers providing onsite psychiatric support for their staff. Alastair Campbell – I was really pleased to see the headline proclaiming “MPs to get mental health clinic in parliament amid rise in depression and anxiety”. [...]

I do not make a habit of apologising to the BBC but sorry, sorry, sorry, I forgot. Forgot what? I promised to do a blog today about the BBC2 Culture Show special on Abraham Lincoln. It is on at 1120pm and presented by Justin Webb. I made this promise when, several weeks ago, I was [...]

The outpouring of jealousy at my meeting ‘Birgitte’ from Borgen was not quite on a par with that inspired by my ‘never talk about it’ football playing with Diego Maradona. It was there nonetheless, from the ‘jammy bastard’ tweets to the observation from Andrew Neil that he ‘never knew Danish could be so hypnotic.’ So [...]

I don’t recall exactly where and when it was that I met journalist David Walsh, not long after I had met Lance Armstrong for the first time, but I do recall his shock tinged with anger that I had ‘fallen for the Armstrong lies.’ I think it was at a football match. Indeed I had [...]

By Ben Hewitt Two months ago we lost a good friend, Nic Hughes. He was a creative and talented university lecturer, a loving husband and doting father of amazing twins. He died of cancer aged 44. Nic took out an insurance policy with Friends Life in good faith, convinced that he had given full disclosure [...]