The former Labour spin doctor is now a mental health campaigner and opened up about his brother after playing the bagpipes at a Celtic Connections event in Glasgow
Alastair Campbell has spoken of his support for a Scottish mental health charity describing its work as “brilliant”.
Tony Blair’s former spin doctor, who was Downing Street press secretary in the late 90s, was addressing an audience at a Celtic Connections event (below) when he spoke passionately about See Me.
Over the last few years Campbell has become known as mental health campaigner, particularly following the death of his brother Donald who experienced schizophrenia, and has been open about his own experiences of depression.
At the Glasgow event he said: "We are making a lot of progress in the campaign to break down the stigma and taboo surrounding mental illness but we have a long way to go.
“We have a long way to go on services too and I worry that as the anti-stigma campaign makes ground we get more people coming forward for services and they find they're not there. So we need to keep campaigning hard for the change we need.
"That is why I support the brilliant work done by See Me and why I am determined to keep my brother's memory alive as one more way of campaigning for better attitudes, research, resourcing and services."
As well as addressing the audience Campbell played the Tiree Song Book on bagpipes in memory of his brother.
Afterwards, See Me director Calum Irving, paid tribute to Campbell, saying: "Alastair is a fantastic campaigner on mental health, using his personal experiences and expertise to speak passionately about this vital issue.
“Having high-profile spokespeople using their platform to speak about mental health does so much to show that no one should ever feel ashamed to speak out.
“Despite this there is still a stigma around it. To tackle this properly we need everyone to understand that it is okay not to be okay.
“If mental health can become a part of normal everyday conversation, just like physical health, then people won’t worry about saying how they really feel, and asking for help."
