(Guardian) The sight of Alastair Campbell, Labour's former spin doctor, seated in the editor's chair and Tony Blair praising God in its overwhelmingly secular pages appears to have sparked a crisis of faith in the New Statesman magazine.

A passionate denunciation of the political weekly by Suzanne Moore, the outgoing columnist and contributing editor, published yesterday has revived bitterness over the Iraq war, generated accusations of narrow party conformity and highlighted frustrations among those attempting to realign the broad left.

The choice of Campbell as guest editor for the latest edition was intended to attract attention to the magazine's editorial relaunch. The Labour insider's ingenuity in extracting interviews and articles from prominent figures such as the former prime minister and the Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson garnered journalistic plaudits.

Some loyal readers and contributors, nonetheless, were outraged by veneration of the government adviser they blame for involvement in the so-called "dodgy dossier", which paved the way to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/23/new-statesman-alastair-campbell-labour