'Is this the most dangerous...?', Evening Standard

Wednesday, March 14, 2001

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Is this the most dangerous man in Britain?

Post-Mandelson, pre-election, Tony Blair might very well think so.
James Silver meets the long-serving political editor of The Sun.

LAST week The Sun announced that it planned to support a second term for the Blair Government. The paper 's political editor, Trevor Kavanagh, perhaps more than any other political editor, would have had a major say in the decision.

But it is well known in the lobby that Kavanagh is not completely comfortable with the idea of backing Labour. "Trevor is a natural Tory, a Thatcherite," says a colleague. "He didn't want The Sun to back Blair at the last election. In fact he wrote a memo to News International [The Sun 's parent company ]executives saying as much at the time. "He later admitted the memo was a mistake.

"If we 'd backed the Tories at the last election, "says Kavanagh, "we 'd have been out of touch with our readers. If we 'd backed them now, I suspect we 'd have been even more out of touch with them."

That said, though, he is thought to feel that the paper has shown its colours too soon. "On the other hand, he 's not comfortable with Hague, because he 's certain to lose, "says his colleague in the lobby.

Kavanagh has little cheer for William Hague. "I suspect preparations for a leadership challenge are already under way.The question is what margin would Hague need to survive and when would he walk? I think if Labour 's majority is 80-100 seats, he 's in serious danger."

While the paper 's leader column last week splashed lavish praise on the Chancellor for his "outstanding "budget, Kavanagh 's bylined piece struck a far more sceptical note. "He [Gordon Brown ]is a socialist Chancellor who is convinced he knows how to spend our money better than we do," he wrote, suggesting a split between editor and political editor - in The Sun camp.. Are they singing from different hymn sheets? "I 'm singing from the hymn sheet I 've always sung from, "Kavanagh says. "The Government can 't be faulted on its stewardship of the economy, that 's why we 're backing them."

He even believes that The Sun has negligible influence over how its millions of readers vote. "If we came out tomorrow and told our readers to vote Tory, it wouldn't make the slightest bit of difference, "he says. "When [in 1992 ]we said 'It Was the Sun Wot Won It',we didn 't mean it literally. It was just exuberance."

Despite its endorsement of Blair, The Sun remains deeply Eurosceptic. According to last Friday 's editorial, entry into the euro would "be opposed with the kind of ferocity we reserved for another Labour leader. Neil Kinnock."

Kavanagh, 30 years a Murdoch employee, 22 of them at The Sun, denies having a hotline to his boss. "He doesn't ring me up or consult me personally. But in a sense, I don 't need to be consulted. By and large his views small government, low taxes, strong defence are policies The Sun has followed throughout his ownership. It would be difficult to do my job if I wasn't in tune with him."

Might The Sun ever shift its ground on Europe? "Only if over a long period of time the euro was working well and sterling had begun to fail But there 's no reason to assume it will. We 've explored the issue of the single currency very thoroughly, this isn't a knee-jerk position."

THE only time a hint of malice creeps into Kavanagh 's voice is when the subject of Peter Mandelson crops up. On the morning of Mandelson 's sacking, Kavanagh wrote savagely of the former Northern Ireland Secretary 's record.

In an article Downing Street cannot have failed to notice, he called Mandelson "arrogant and incorrigible "and "a natural-born liar " with "extraordinary standards of mendacity "for whom deceit was "second nature ".

Recently Kavanagh discovered that the former Northern Ireland Secretary once tried to get him sacked. "The man is extremely devious and manipulative, "he says. "He lied to me point blank on one occasion. And he was known for going to newspaper boardroom lunches and slagging off the journalists he didn't like."

Kavanagh, who is 58, was born in London and brought up in a Labour-supporting household. After spells on a weekly in Surrey and the Hereford Evening News, he moved to Australia where the implosion of the Labour government sparked his interest in politics. On his return to the UK in 1978, Kavanagh joined The Sun newsdesk, becoming industrial correspondent during the Winter of Discontent. He landed his current job five years later, and is now rumoured to earn Pounds 120,000 a year.

Kavanagh only counts "a small number "of politicians as friends, and is known among lobby correspondents as "a corporate man to his fingertips ".One says: "He 's been around a very long time and there 's no doubt that he sees himself as the doyen of the lobby. But because The Sun is the best-selling newspaper in Britain by a mile, it gives him clout. I've seen Cherie Booth go up and embrace him very warmly even though she hates everything he stands for."

With his 60th birthday on the horizon Kavanagh won 't be drawn on whether he plans to spend more time with his golf clubs. "I wouldn 't want to push my luck, "he says. "It 's been a very long time. I 'm amazed I 'm still here. "Then he adds: "But I'll stay as long as they want me."

(The Evening Standard, March 14th 2001)

Posted by James Silver - On Wednesday, March 14, 2001

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