Ex-No10 spin doctor Sir Craig Oliver blasted by Remain donor Roland Rudd for ‘gagging’ campaign over immigration
Mr Rudd claims Remain's 'biggest mistake' was allowing the 'dead hand of Downing Street to really dictate the campaign'
TOP Remain donor Roland Rudd has launched a blistering assault on ex-No10 spin doctor Sir Craig Oliver, accusing him of gagging the pro-EU camp from talking about immigration.
Corporate lobbyist Roland Rudd, who was a central figure in the campaign to Remain in the EU, has said allowing No10 to “dictate” their referendum messaging was “a huge mistake.”
He claimed: “There was sort of shut down from No10 that no one was to talk about immigration and that was a huge mistake.”
In a direct attack on live TV, Mr Rudd claimed “our biggest mistake” was to “allow the dead hand of Downing Street to really dictate the campaign”.
He said handing the campaign to David Cameron and his aides meant decisions were "made in the interest of a party rather than in the interests of what is really needed in terms of the referendum.”
In a fatal tactical cock-up, Mr Rudd claimed Sir Craig also blocked attacks on Brexit Tories like Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.
He told ITV’s Robert Peston: “There was no blue on blue which was an extraordinary mistake.”
He added that the campaign was “was about Conservative Party management not about actually winning the campaign.
RELATED STORIES
He went on: “Where we failed really quite miserably was to give the positive vision of what it could be for Britain to actually lead Europe rather than actually leave Europe."
He was loaned over to the Remain campaign for the last few weeks of June’s tense referendum battle.
City PR kingpin Rudd was the Treasurer for Britain Stronger In Europe - the official Remain campaign.
Mr Rudd said Sir Craig was “basically is a very bright able guy, but he, on behalf of the PM, ended up running our campaign.
"And however talented he is that was a mistake.”
Mr Rudd's criticism came after Sir Craig Oliver attacked former M&S boss for a series of referendum blunders.
Sir Craig claimed Lord Rose's gaffe claiming that wage increases after Britain leaves the EU might not be "a good thing", had been "a gift"; to the Eurosceptics.