Bernard Ingham
British journalist and civil servant (1932–2023)
Sir Bernard Ingham (21 June 1932 – 24 February 2023) was a British journalist known as press secretary to Margaret Thatcher during her period as Prime Minister. Ingham, born in Yorkshire, was originally a member of the Labour Party and stood as a Labour candidate, but then joined the civil service. He worked for Tony Benn in the Department of Energy before being recruited by Mrs Thatcher. According to the standard convention, Ingham's statements in lobby briefings of journalists were not attributed to him but to "sources close to the Prime Minister".
Quotes
edit- Many journalists have fallen for the conspiracy theory of government. I do assure you that they would produce more accurate work if they adhered to the cock-up theory.
- In The Observer, "Sayings of the Week" (17 March 1985), as cited in A Dictionary of Business Quotations (1990), p. 59
- Blood sport is brought to its ultimate refinement in the gossip columns.
- Speech (9 February 1986), as cited in Sayings of the Eighties (1989), p. 106
- The media, I tell pedants in the Government, is like an oil painting. Close up, it looks like nothing on earth. Stand back and you get the drift.
- Speech to the Parliamentary Press Gallery (February 1990), as cited in The Oxford Dictionary of Political Quotations (1996), p. 188
