GLASGOW-BORN comedy writer Armando Iannucci is in a war of words with Alastair Campbell, the former spin doctor for ex-prime Minister Tony Blair.
Mr Iannucci is the man who penned In The Thick Of It, the TV political comedy whose star character is a government spin doctor strongly believed to be based on Mr Campbell.
But Mr Campbell has slammed the writer for accepting an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
Mr Campbell, writing on the internet social networking site Twitter, said satirists should "set themselves apart from the Establishment" and claimed "three little letters" had dulled the writer's wit.
But Mr Iannucci responded simply "WMD", a reference to the Government security dossier published before the UK joined the war on Iraq in 2003.
Mr Campbell continued the argument on his blog. He said: "The Twitter row I provoked went a lot bigger than I thought it would and, as ever, people tended to frame their responses according to set views.
"So I was working for the Government at the time of Iraq War, and therefore cannot possibly criticise a satirist? Not sure I follow the logic. I have a set view about the honours system – I don't like it – and about hypocrisy – I don't like that either.
"When he (Iannucci) said if the OBE was an attempt by the Government to stop him taking the mick out of politicians, it won't work, fair enough.
"But what yesterday suggested is that he is a tad thin-skinned when he finds it is he, rather than people in politics, who are on the receiving end of accusations of hypocrisy and difficult questions."
But in a dig at the former communications chief, Mr Iannucci then posted: "First whole day at Establishment Boot Camp. We all had to strip off and swim 10 lengths in a pool filled with the blood of the working classes.
brian.beacom@ heraldandtimes.co.uk
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