Bernard Ingham

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

 * 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.
 * The Observer, 1985-03-17 (as quoted in Oxford Essential Quotations (4 ed.), ed. Susan Ratcliffe, 2016)

Article on Nuclear's Presentational Problem from the World Nuclear Association's web site

 * And have no doubt, the real purpose of the Earth Summit is to transfer your hard-earned cash to others who mostly have governments with even less of a clue how to conduct their affairs than we do.


 * Lying at the heart of this ridiculous cameo of modern summitry is nuclear's fundamental problem.

About Ingham

 * He is the sewer, not the sewage.
 * John Biffen, a Cabinet minister criticised in Ingham's briefing.