Old hand favourite to take over media role

David Hill, who served as Labour's communications chief under Neil Kinnock and John Smith, has emerged as the front runner to take over from Alastair Campbell.

Mr Hill is highly rated by the party and seen as reliable, canny and experienced enough to steer the Government through rocky times. He is also seen as thoughtful and mature enough not to "become the story" himself.

The bluff 55-year-old is also popular with journalists for his direct, friendly and "unspun" approach. The moustachioed spin doctor is an Aston Villa supporter who is fond of watching horror movies and going on holidays to Mexico.

He is credited with "creating spin" and "spinning with integrity", but he is admired for his straight approach to the media.

He left the Labour Party to take a highly paid job in the private sector, where his clients included the controversial biotechnology company Monsanto. But he is still consulted by the Government.

He was trusted enough by Tony Blair to be recalled from his job, as a director of Bell Pottinger public relations, to play a key role during the 1997 and 2001 general elections.

Mr Hill has worked for senior Labour figures since 1973, when he started with Roy Hattersley. He is thought to accept that Labour lost direction by letting spin become the story and that it has ceded public trust.

His style would mean that, unlike the flamboyant figure of Alastair Campbell, he would be unlikely to be caricatured as the "real deputy prime minister" or attract tabloid headlines by going to Britney Spears pop concerts.

But there are some in Downing Street who believe that Mr Campbell should not be replaced at all.

Other possible candidates for the job of director of communications and strategy include John Williams, the press secretary at the Foreign Office; Simon Wren, Alistair Darling's press secretary; and Tim Allan, Mr Campbell's quick-witted former deputy.