Former Tony Blair spokesman Alastair Campbell has been forced to apologise over a claim he made about slain political activist Charlie Kirk saying gay people should be stoned to death.
The comment was made on ‘The Rest is Politics” podcast where Mr Campbell acknowledged “the guy’s died and it’s tragic … but it’s important we don’t lose sight of some of the views he expressed”.
“They were horrific,” he said.
“I remember one clip I saw of him saying … literal reading of the bible, gay people should be stoned to death.”
Journalist Andrew Doyle posted the clip on X and called Mr Campbell out, saying: “No … Charlie Kirk categorically did NOT support the stoning to death of gay people”.
“Will you retract this reckless and ignorant smear?”
It prompted Mr Campbell to reply: “Apologies for this”.
“I had seen a clip on social media which did not have the full context,” he said in a reply on X.
Alastair Campbell apologised for not being extra careful before making the comments
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“(I) had seen others making the same claim.”
Mr Campbell, who served as former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman between 1997 and 2000, admitted “the full exchange shows it was a debate about Biblical interpretation, not a call for the stoning of gay people”.
However, he added that “Kirk did have views with which I strongly disagree but this was not among them”.
“Note to self – especially amid tragic and potentially deeply polarising events, be careful about social media, mis- and disinformation,” he concluded.
The comments come after Mr Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University and led to the arrest of Utah-native Tyler Robinson, 22.
Robinson is accused of murdering the political activist while he was speaking at the campus last week.
In a video shared in the comments of Mr Campbell’s apology, Mr Kirk can be seen defending taking a question from an audience member who criticised him for accepting “anti-Christian, immoral lifestyles like homosexuality”.
Mr Kirk responded by asking whether the man was a Donald Trump supporter, which he said he was.
“Are you sickened that he had a gay man speak at his convention?” Mr Kirk asked.
The man replied “yes”.
It prompted Mr Kirk to sternly say: “Well then you’re not a Trump supporter”.
Mr Kirk said his personal position was that he was a Christian “first and foremost”.
“Then an American, then a constitutionalist, then a conservative, in that order,” he added.
“I believe marriage, biblically … is one man, one woman.”
But, Mr Kirk said he didn’t believe in the “sort of rhetoric” which says there is “no place for gay people in the conservative movement”.
“I do not believe that,” he said.