Labour leader refused to be interviewed by former Tony Blair press chief for men’s magazine, says editor

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Jeremy Corbyn has been revealed as the latest cover star of GQ, but refused to be interviewed by Alastair Campbell for the men’s magazine.

The editor, Dylan Jones, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he had to use an alternative interviewer, the senior commissioning editor Stuart McGurk, after the Labour leader turned down a meeting with Campbell, who was Tony Blair’s head of communications.

Jones – who has previously written about his support for the Conservative party and penned a book with David Cameron – said Corbyn and his “gatekeepers” did not understand the process of conducting a magazine interview and photo shoot.

“When he turned up for his shoot it was almost like he was being pushed around like the grandpa for the family Christmas photograph,” Jones said on Friday. “He wasn’t particularly aware of what was going on.”

In the interview, Corbyn talks about the EU referendum, Donald Trump and Blair.

The apparently airbrushed cover portrait has received mixed reactions, with supporters praising Corbyn’s polished look and some Tory MPs mocking him.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Photograph: Marco Grob/GQ/Conde Nast

Jones said McGurk approached the interview as a fan of Corbyn but was “quite quickly disillusioned”. He found Corbyn to be a “bit of a Wizard of Oz” character.

The leader was not able to name any of his business advisers, the editor said, and could not identify a book or film he had read in the last year.

“He’s not fantastic on detail,” he said. “He’s the most divisive character in Westminster at the moment. He does have an air of authenticity about him and his myopic view is quite appealing.”

• The Corbyn cover issue of GQ will be on sale from Monday