Campbell orders media shake-up

Alastair Campbell has ordered the Whitehall press machine to get a grip of the war coverage, fearing that dramatic footage from the front line is overshadowing the overall successes of the military campaign.

Tony Blair's powerful director of communications and strategy went "ballistic" last week as criticism of the war began to spiral. The idea that the war plan had been changed to cope with unexpected Iraqi resistance began to circulate, and there was criticism that what people had expected to be a short war would become a more protracted campaign.

According to Whitehall sources, Mr Campbell ordered the MoD to "get the big picture out there".

On Thursday, the MoD dutifully attempted to give London-based journalists a sense of the "wider context". But Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon's appeal was quickly drowned out by a series of gaffes by Government ministers.

First, Mr Hoon was embarrassingly forced to retract claims that the discovery of more than 100 biochemical protection suits was proof that Saddam Hussein was preparing to use weapons of mass destruction.

Then, more damagingly, the Prime Minister used a Washington press conference to erroneously claim that two British servicemen were "executed" by the Iraqi regime.

Questions surfaced about the veracity of other claims made by the coalition – the injury or death of Saddam Hussein in the opening stages of the campaign, the scale of humanitarian aid getting into Iraq and the confused situation in Basra.

The following day, General Sir Michael Jackson issued a stern warning to the press.

He told journalists to think about the effects of what they wrote and broadcast on the bereaved families. "It's not about propaganda or spin, it is about human decency," he said.

Turning to the reporting of the war, General Jackson urged people to set in context the significance of events shown on television. "They are no more than snapshots of a particular time and a particular place," he said. "They tell you very little if anything at all of the progress of the campaign at a strategic level."

Downing Street admitted there were a "lot of challenges" associated with the demands of 24-hour news and competition between journalists, papers and broadcasters.

Mr Campbell was fulfilling his role as head of strategic communications in handling the way the war was presented as in everything else.

Overheard: from the hairdresser's in Liverpool to the foxhole in Iraq

Have you heard the one about the war? Probably. It's bloody and nasty and not very funny, but even as the first bombs fell on Baghdad, the looming conflict was the subject of black humour, anecdotes, rumours and conspiracy theories in bars, at bus stops, in offices and at supermarket check-outs. Both here and in the Gulf, our correspondents have been able to listen in to some thoughts on the war:

Couple in a restaurant: "Have you seen GMTV's war coffee table? Natasha Kaplinski is very good at pointing at Baghdad."

Father to 12-year-old son: "They bombed a bazaar in Baghdad last night. Lots of Iraqis killed." Son, a Newcastle fan, replies: "Do you think Kieron Dyer will play on the left side for England, Dad?"

At the hairdresser's in Liverpool: "I don't know nothing about this war and I don't want to. It's better not to know."

Pedestrian passing anti-war poster in St Albans: "They'd soon be complaining if there was a terrorist attack round here."

At RAF Fairford last Saturday, watching a peace protest: "These bloody marchers: if it wasn't the war they'd be moaning about something else."

American woman in a smart hotel: "My husband's a Republican. So he's for war."

Young woman on the London Underground: "I can't wait for it all to be over so Danny Baker returns to BBC London in the mornings."

Woman with young child at bus stop: "I know it sounds simplistic, but just one cruise missile could probably buy us a new school."

Soldier in Umm Qasr who has just heard Geoff Hoon's remark that the Iraqi city is similar to Southampton: "He's either never been to Southampton, or he's never been to Umm Qasr." Whereupon his colleague in arms says: "There's no beer, no prostitutes and people are shooting at us. It's more like Portsmouth."

In a sports club: "You can't be soft with these people. What you've got to do is send in the SAS and wipe the lot of them out."

Doctor in his surgery: "Blair's crap, Bush is crap. They're having this war to fool people into forgetting that. They must realise their role is to do what we want them to do."

Driver of a black cab who has just been asked to go to the Foreign Office: "You work for the Foreign Office?" Answer: "No." Driver: "That's good; I was going to give you an earful about the war."

British soldier on the battlefield in Iraq: "Don't they understand my schedule? I've got tickets for a Robbie Williams concert booked in August."

From the next seat in the railway carriage: "Have you heard that they're going to behead Saddam Hussein when they get hold of him? I was really shocked to find out that the Americans are going to use decapitation in this war."

One busy colleague to another: "I've been in and out of the office this week like a coalition marine in Umm Qasr." Friend: "I'm working harder than a traffic cop on the Iraqi border."