Ministers attempt to gag Sixsmith over spin row

The Government has been conducting an extraordinary campaign to stop Stephen Byers' former press chief telling his explosive story about news management, intrigue and alleged mendacity at the heart of the Whitehall machine.

Anxious to draw a line under Mr Byers' disastrous tenure at the Department for Transport, the Government has apparently embarked on a determined attempt to stop Martin Sixsmith giving his account to both Parliament and public.

Mr Sixsmith is to seek assurances from the Government that he will not be penalised if he gives evidence to the Wicks inquiry into the role of special advisers.

The former communications director at the Department for Transport is understood to have been warned in stark terms by the office of the Deputy Prime Minister to abide by rules of confidentiality.

He has been told that the rules governing secrecy in civil servants also apply to him and that he must make his own judgement about whether to give evidence to the Wicks Committee.

When questioned about the "gagging order", Downing Street said it was up to Mr Sixsmith to decide whether to accept the invitation to appear.

Friends of Mr Sixsmith say he is now planning to seek a written guarantee from government that if he gives evidence to the committee he will not be penalised.

At stake is the £180,000 due to the former BBC television reporter under an agreement he struck when he was forced to leave the ministry. The Deputy Prime Minister's office has allegedly held on to the money, due to be paid on 31 May, until Mr Sixsmith agrees to take a vow of silence.

Ministers are deeply concerned about the prospect of new revelations about "spin".

One ministerial special adviser said he did not believe Mr Sixsmith would be bound by any attempts to gag him. "It seems he'll say whatever he likes," he said. "No matter what we try to do."

Sir Nigel Wicks is keen that Mr Sixsmith appear before the committee and is said to be privately frustrated by government attempts to put pressure on him not to give evidence.

The committee chairman is considering making a public statement condemning attempts to put pressure on potential witnesses. Sir Nigel is likely to criticise government moves not to abide by the principle of "openness."

Jo Moore, Mr Byers' former spin doctor, has yet to reply to requests from the committee to appear. Alastair Campbell and Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair's chief of staff, are expected to decline invitations.

Whitehall heavies are believed to have told ministries they should not co-operate with a Channel 4 documentary being made by Mr Sixsmith. "They have issued blanket instructions to ministries not to co-operate," Mr Sixsmith said. He told PR Week that he had been barred from filming at the Civil Service college. Officials at the Ministry of Defence have also been warned not to co-operate. Any account by Mr Sixsmith of events since 11 September, when Ms Moore sent her notorious e-mail, would make fascinating viewing. Ms Moore's suggestion that it was a "very good day" to "bury" bad news, seemed to encapsulate the worst of New Labour news management.

Mr Sixsmith became director of communications after the departure of Alun Evans, who clashed with both Mr Byers and his spin doctor Ms Moore. The new man fared little better and was soon protesting over attempts to politicise his civil servants.

Mr Sixsmith was shown the door at the department after being accused of leaking another damning e-mail allegedly warning Ms Moore not to "bury" bad news on the day of Princess Margaret's funeral. Mr Byers told Parliament that Mr Sixsmith had resigned over the affair. Mr Sixsmith denied he had walked out and the former transport secretary was eventually forced to accept the version of events set out by his former communications chief.

A month ago, after damaging claims about his uneasy relationship with the truth, Mr Byers resigned. But his ministerial ghost continues to haunt Tony Blair's administration.