Outspoken Australian ‘fixer’ Lynton Crosby used the phrase ‘f****** Muslims’ in a diatribe while working for London Mayor Boris Johnson.
But No 10 officials said the Prime Minister has no intention of changing his mind about appointing the strategist, despite the new revelations.
Mr Crosby’s outburst came earlier this year as Mr Johnson’s aides discussed whether to devote more attention to wooing the ethnic minority vote in his battle with Labour’s Ken Livingstone.
According to a source, Mr Crosby said Mr Johnson should concentrate on traditional Tory voters instead of ‘f****** Muslims’. The source added: ‘He definitely used that phrase’ and said: ‘Lynton’s view was that chasing the Muslim vote and other ethnic groups was a waste of time – and he frequently expressed himself in very strong terms. Some people found it very offensive.’
In a statement last night a spokesman for Mr Crosby said he had ‘absolutely no recollection’ of using the term.
His allies claimed Mr Crosby was the victim of a dirty tricks plot by Tory enemies to stop him taking charge of campaigns at Conservative HQ.
The spokesman said: ‘It is entirely mischievous to suggest Lynton is racist in any way. He campaigned vigorously for the Muslim vote during the Mayoral race. He has absolutely no recollection whatsoever of making these comments.’
Asked repeatedly if Mr Crosby had uttered the words ‘f****** Muslims’, the spokesman said: ‘As I have said, he has no recollection of doing so.’
It is not the first time Mr Crosby, 55, has been involved in a sensitive row over campaign strategy.
The Australian objected to the way Mr Johnson ordered adverts to be removed from London buses which stated that gays could be converted to heterosexuality. Sources close to Mr Crosby denied he was opposed to the adverts being taken down – but said he objected to the way the Mayor briefed newspapers without discussing it with him first. The sources said it was totally untrue and an ‘outrageous lie’ to suggest Mr Crosby is either anti-gay or racist.
Mr Johnson last night said he had ‘no recollection’ of being present when Mr Crosby made his ‘f****** Muslims’ comment. He said his election chief was ‘the soul of sweetness and kindness’.
And the Mayor urged Mr Cameron not to reverse his decision to put Mr Crosby in charge of his election campaign.
Mr Johnson said: ‘Lynton Crosby is the soul of kindness and sweetness and is not the reactionary caricature some have painted him to be. He is the best campaign manager anyone can hope for and I congratulate Conservative HQ for securing his services.’
A spokesman for the Mayor added: ‘Boris wants it known that Lynton is not the ogre some make him out to be.’
Asked to confirm the Mayor was present when Mr Crosby referred to ‘f****** Muslims’, the spokesman said: ‘The Mayor has no recollection of the alleged conversation. The Mayor would recognise that there were debates over the direction of strategy. What he would not recognise is any suggestion of abusive or offensive language directed at any particular group of voters from any member of his campaign staff.’
The damaging disclosure comes days after Tory chiefs secretly put the finishing touches to a deal whereby Mr Crosby and his Crosby-Textor political polling company will take charge of the next Tory Election campaign from January. The deal, said to be worth £200,000 a year was due to be announced in the next few days.
Blunt-talking Mr Crosby, has been called ‘the Wizard of Oz’ because of his legendary success in political campaigns, including winning four terms for former Australian PM John Howard. His supporters have called him one of the most brilliant political strategists of his generation.
Tim Montgomerie, editor of Conservative Home, wrote that the Tory Party ‘needs him and needs him desperately. He will bring discipline, clarity and the toughness to the Tory operation that, at present, is so sorely lacking’.
But Mr Crosby has powerful enemies in the Party. Some Tory MPs and No 10 advisers believe his advocacy of populist policies, and in particular his views on immigration, could lose votes.
Tory Deputy Chairman, Lord Ashcroft took the unusual step of publicly warning Mr Cameron not to sign up Mr Crosby.
The peer said last month: ‘I believe it would be a mistake to hire Lynton Crosby. Not because it would lead to a re-run of the immigration-dominated 2005 campaign but because I do not think he is needed and would become a distracting influence.
‘Far from ensuring a single strong manager, this is a recipe for the kind of conflict and confusion that dogged the 2010 campaign and helped cost us the majority we could have won.’ Some insiders have suggested Mr Crosby’s arrival marks a demotion for Mr Cameron’s campaigns chief, Stephen Gilbert, a close confidant of Lord Ashcroft.
Nor is Mr Crosby’s appointment approved by all of Mr Cameron’s advisers. Head of strategy Andrew Cooper, who played a key role in Mr Cameron’s ‘modernising’ of the Tory Party away from its Thatcherite image, is said to have voiced doubts – but he has denied threatening to quit over the hiring of Mr Crosby.
A source who has worked with Mr Crosby said: ‘Lynton’s problem is that he only has one club in his golf bag. He goes on and on about immigration but there is much more to getting Conservatives re-elected in 2015 than that.
‘Mitt Romney’s defeat shows that a Right-of-centre party cannot win in the modern world by appealing to core voters only. You have to reach out to all groups.’
An ally of Mr Johnson said: ‘Boris was not always comfortable when Lynton talked about ethnic issues.’
Mr Cameron is believed to have sought assurances from Mr Crosby that he will not push the Tories back to the Right if he takes charge of campaigns.
Mr Crosby’s most vocal Cabinet supporter is George Osborne.
The Chancellor previously persuaded Mr Cameron to appoint former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as his spin doctor – but Mr Coulson was later forced to resign over the phone-hacking scandal.
WHY BORIS THINKS HIS 'WIZARD OF OZ' SHOULD TAKE CONTROL OF TORY CAMPAIGN
If Lynton Crosby is known for one thing, it is winning elections for Right-wing political leaders by ruthlessly playing the immigration card.
Mr Crosby, known as the ‘attack dingo’, has become synonymous with ‘dog whistle politics’ – the repeated use of coded language which plays to the worst fears of certain voters.
The term entered the political lexicon when Mr Crosby, running the Tories’ 2005 General Election campaign for leader Michael Howard, is responsible for the slogan: ‘Are you thinking what we’re thinking?’
He deployed messages such as ‘It’s not racist to impose limits on immigration’ and ‘How would you feel if a bloke on early release attacked your daughter?’ on posters and mailshots.
Although the tactic failed to prevent a third term for Tony Blair, many Tories believe it helped limit Labour’s majority and provided the platform for revival under David Cameron.
As a result, he retains a loyal fan base in the party.
Born in 1957 in Kadina, South Australia, the economics graduate soon discovered he had a flair for advising parties on election-winning strategies.
Infamously, he was associated with claims in the 2001 Australian general election that asylum seekers had thrown children into the sea.
Witty, foul-mouthed and a workaholic, ‘the Wizard of Oz’ is blunt to his political masters.
In the 2008 London Mayoral campaign he told Boris Johnson: ‘If you let us down we will cut your f****** knees off.’
The Mayor of London has little doubt about Mr Crosby’s abilities. This month he told Tory backbenchers they should ‘break the piggybank’ to hire him and give him a ‘free hand’ to take control of campaigning.
Those close to Mr Crosby are not offended by his plain speaking – and say it is all part of his charismatic personal style.
Original Article
Source: dailymail.co.uk/
Author: SIMON WALTERS
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