Press Secretary to James Callaghan

Born: February 20, 1922;

Died: July 8, 2016

SIR Tom McCaffrey, who has died aged 94, was a Glaswegian who spent three challenging years as head of press relations at Number 10 while the Prime Minister, James Callaghan, faced mounting industrial chaos.

The most turbulent was undoubtedly in 1979 when Sunny Jim, as the PM was widely known, returned from an international conference in the West Indies to a snow-bound and strike-torn Britain. The Winter of Discontent had already caused havoc throughout the economy and rubbish was piling up across the land.

Returning to the chaos, Callaghan was advised by his colleagues to make light of the UK’s sad state and at Heathrow Callaghan glibly replied to a question about the industrial crisis with, “Crisis? What Crisis?” Mr McCaffrey had strongly advised against even holding a press conference but Callaghan’s political gurus persisted. The media lampooned the already battered PM and Callaghan never recovered.

Mr McCaffrey was not the flamboyant or aggressive PR man that has tended to inhabit Downing Street more recently. He was much respected by the media and he maintained a calm and courteous manner to all – always softly spoken and polite. He was very much the quiet professional who knew his place: he never tried to usurp Callaghan's prestige or position. He ensured he was not the story but the PM was.

Thomas Daniel McCaffrey was born in Glasgow, the son of a travelling salesman specialising in selling spirits to public houses. He initially attended at Hyndland Secondary School, won a scholarship to the Jesuit St Aloysius’ College and then joined the RAF in 1940, serving throughout the war.

On being demobbed he was appointed an information officer in the Scottish Office at St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh. He was promoted in 1966 to be head of information at the Home Office in Whitehall.

In 1971 he moved to Downing Street to work in the press office of Edward Heath but was soon poached by the Home Office to mastermind the unsavoury stories surrounding the resettlement in Britain of Ugandan Asians expelled by Idi Amin.

When Labour returned in 1974 Mr McCaffrey served both Roy Jenkins and Callaghan. With the former he had a somewhat uneasy relationship but he and Callaghan worked in a genial harmony. He ably argued in favour of Callaghan’s attempts to find peace in Northern Ireland and to mend relations with the unions.

Mr McCaffrey gave informed press briefings during the controversial union white paper, In Place of Strife, justifying Callaghan’s opposition to Barbara Castle’s bill. Mr McCaffrey was involved in accusations of playing a strategic role in the decisions – which he strongly denied. But Mr McCaffrey had a flair for winning over the media to his point of view and undoubtedly proved an invaluable spokesperson to his political masters.

After various posts in Whitehall (including Deputy Press Secretary to Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1971) he went to the Foreign Office in 1974 when Callaghan became Foreign Secretary. The two again enjoyed a good working relationship and when Callaghan became PM in 1976 Mr McCaffrey was appointed his press secretary.

Relations with the press were not easy and Mr McCaffrey’s first action was to rescind an order by Joe Haines (the former press secretary) not to provide unattributable briefings (the lobby system) twice a day. Mr McCaffrey immediately restored the lobby system and created a greater trust with the lobby correspondents.

He remained aloof from much of the in-fighting in the press room. He never offered advice on speeches and only complained to editors in the mildest manner. In this respect Mr McCaffrey reflected Callaghan’s own feeling that the press was largely anti-Labour and best kept at arms-length.

It was a fraught period in Number 10 with the government’s popularity declining appreciably. Callaghan was thought to be about to call a snap election in 1978 but decided to battle on. It was not easy to present a positive picture of events.

The following year Callaghan lost the election to Margaret Thatcher and in 1980 Mr McCaffrey was knighted but continued to work for Labour’s new leader, Michael Foot. That did not prove a happy few years although Mr McCaffrey loyally supported Foot throughout the 1983 General Election: the Labour backbencher Gerald Kaufman called the Labour manifesto, “the longest suicide note in history”.

In 1983 Mr McCaffrey accepted a post which also did not suit him – advising Robert Maxwell owner of the Daily Mirror. That only lasted a few months as Sir Tom found the proprietor’s mood swings and abrasive manner impossible to deal with.

Sir Tom was a life-long Catholic and until illness prevented him he regularly attended mass. He started running aged 90 and spent much time in his garden and keeping in touch with current affairs.

Tom McCaffrey married Agnes Douglas in 1949. She and their three children survive him.

ALASDAIR STEVEN