Is there any group more ham-fisted than the Batman-caped crusaders of Fathers 4 Justice? The Western Daily Press claims to have foiled an attempt by activists to target Zara Phillips at the Gatcombe horse trials in August. A disgruntled member of the group leaked plans to the paper, which tipped off the police.

Phillips is one of the most famous products of a broken home in Britain. She is a living advertisement for the argument of Fathers 4 Justice that children of divorced parents benefit from seeing their fathers. It sometimes makes you wonder whether activists really have the best interests of children at heart, or just enjoy the thrill of cheap publicity stunts.

Cruncher Campbell reveals Hairdryer Alex as his mentor

When Alastair Campbell was advising Tony Blair, who was advising Alastair Campbell? All can now be revealed. The former Downing Street king of spin was getting tips from Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United.

“Alex Ferguson is a good friend of mine whose passion for Labour and personal advice to me have been a valuable support during my time in politics,” says Campbell, whose diary of the Blair years is published tomorrow.

The two men met again last week at a charity event in Mayfair, where a fellow guest was Carole Caplin. Campbell once described Caplin, former health guru to Cherie Blair, as “trouble in a designer dress”. Now they seem to have kissed and made up. Without any actual kissing, you understand.

Looking back at 10 years of new Labour, can we deduce what advice Sir Alex, famed for his “hairdryer” approach to team talks, might have given? Boss the midfield, obviously. If you have enough players across the centre, the opposition can’t get any shots on target.

Yet what a pity that Blair never spotted the biggest lesson of all from Manchester United: that a Scottish hardman always outlasts the flashy, so-called flair players.

Actor son of Iain Duncan Smith plays Alastair the spin king

The actor playing Alastair Campbell in Tony! The Blair Musical, which opens later this month at the Theatre Royal, York, has put in some impressive background research over many years. He is Edward Duncan Smith, the 20-year-old son of former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, who once called for Campbell to be sacked as Blair’s spin chief.

“The musical is an affectionate hour-long satire about Blair leaving Downing Street,” says producer Anna Donaghy. “It is short, snappy and light-hearted and we are hoping it will be popular.”

It was Iain Duncan Smith who insisted you should never underestimate the quiet man. But never mind all that rubbish, Edward, just sing up or we’ll not hear you at the back.

- It’s four years since Charles Moore was freed from his ordeal as editor of The Daily Telegraph, but still he struggles to adapt to modern life. Invited to rock’n’roll at last weekend’s Concert for Diana, he took along a hefty book about the battle of the Somme while Mrs Moore almost finished an 800-page Hungarian novel. Should we perhaps have started him with some Bing Crosby to ease the poor fellow in gently?

- As Conrad Black waits for a Chicago jury to decide whether he is guilty of fraud, a harsh verdict has already been delivered elsewhere. Ottawa’s Carleton University, where the former Telegraph owner studied history, has removed his picture from a display of graduates. “The authorities had no choice but to take down his photograph,” says a college source. “”It kept being defaced.”

- John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, has told dinner guests how he suddenly woke up at 2.30am last Wednesday. With no copy of The Independent on hand to lull him back to sleep, he went downstairs to pray. That seemed to do the trick. The following morning he discovered that 2.30am was the moment it was announced Alan Johnston, the captive BBC correspondent, had been released in Gaza. God moves in a mysterious way. That or the Almighty was just too busy to phone.

- "I think it's quite important that people are not encouraged to see me as the saviour of the southwest," says Labour's Ben Bradshaw, who was recently appointed as minister for the English region. Just to put his mind at rest on this point, hands up all those who saw Ben in this role?

- Gordon Brown has issued a new code of conduct for ministers that advises: “Ministers should personally pay council tax on at least one property.” Quite. As former deputy prime minister John Prescott discovered last year, it’s so easy to forget.

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