Tony Blair's ex-spin doctor Alastair Campbell has revealed the close friendship he had with former political opponent Charles Kennedy was built on a "shared enemy" - the fight against "the demon drink".
Despite being on opposite sides of the bitter political divide over the Iraq war, the two men remained firm friends until the former Lib Dem leader's death, and had even light-heartedly discussed the formation of a new political party in Scotland in the wake of the SNP landslide which ousted Mr Kennedy from his Commons seat.
In a highly personal tribute, Mr Campbell revealed how he and his partner Fiona Millar had worried about the impact losing his place at Westminster would have on Mr Kennedy.
He said: "I just wish that we, his friends, had been able to help him more, and that he was still with us today."
In a post on his website, Mr Campbell wrote: "We were all a bit worried about him after the election. Indeed, 'is Charles going to be ok?' was one of the questions Fiona asked me most often during the campaign, and, on the night the exit poll made it clear his safe seat was gone, 'is Charles ok?' became an inquiry of a very different nature.
"Representing the people of Ross, Skye and Lochaber meant so much to him."
Mr Campbell said that after the election defeat, Mr Kennedy had told him his "health" was "fine" - a code used to show he was not drinking.
"Going by the chats and text exchanges before and after his election defeat, he seemed to be taking it all philosophically.
"Before, he took to sending me the William Hill odds on his survival, and a day before the election I got a text saying 'Not good. Wm Hill has me 3-1 against, SNP odds on, they're looking unstoppable'. Then he added: 'There is always hope... health remains fine'.
"Health remains fine - this was a little private code we had, which meant we were not drinking.
"A week later, health still fine, we chatted about the elections, and he did sound pretty accepting of what had happened."
Mr Kennedy said that "in some ways he was glad to be out of it", although Mr Campbell said he was "not totally sure I believed him, but he had plenty of ideas of how he would spend his time, how we would make a living, and most important how he would continue to contribute to political ideas and political life".
"Later he texted me 'fancy starting a new Scottish left-leaning party? I joke not'.
"I suggested - though I confess I was joking - that we hold a 'coalition summit' at the place we go on holiday. 'I am up for that - but who do we invite?'"
Mr Campbell, who has written extensively about his own battle with depression and alcoholism, said his friendship with Mr Kennedy dated back to the early years of their careers more than 30 years ago.
He said Mr Kennedy's struggle with drink was "part of who he was and the life he had".
Mr Campbell and his family frequently holidayed in Mr Kennedy's former constituency and he and his son Donald, now 10, and wife Sarah - before their separation - would come to visit.
In a post on his website Mr Campbell wrote that their "shared friendship was also built on a shared enemy, and that is alcohol".
"Perhaps another day, if his family are happy with this, I will write in more detail about the discussions we had over the past few years, and what it was like for someone in the public eye facing the demon drink. It was a part of who he was, and the life he had; the struggles came and went, and went and came, but the great qualities that made Charles who and what he was were always there."
Mr Campbell added: "He was great company, sober or drinking. He had a fine political mind and a real commitment to public service."
He added: "Despite the occasional blip when the drink interfered, he was a terrific communicator and a fine orator. He spoke fluent human, because he had humanity in every vein and every cell.
"Above all, he was a doting dad of his son, whose loss is going to be greater than for any of us, and who will be reminded of his father every time he looks in the mirror and sees his red hair and cheeky smile coming back.
"And he was a very good friend. I just wish that we, his friends, had been able to help him more, and that he was still with us today, adding a bit of light to an increasingly gloomy political landscape."
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