Tim Bell was always a divisive figure, and his death has shone a new light on why. In Conservative circles, Margaret Thatcher’s favourite PR guru will be forever lauded for the seminal Labour Isn’t Working election poster that he dreamed up for the Tories in 1978. In the PR and lobbying industry, he is still seen by many as a titan of the trade. Meanwhile, journalists such as ITV political editor Robert Peston remember him as the best company, and “a pirate of the old school”.
Opponents simply point to Bell’s client list, which has included the government of Saudi Arabia, the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, and Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian president of Belarus.
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