text: "•• EUROPE NEWS• FEBRUARY 25 2010Obama Advisers to Aid Tories' Election TVBattleBy IAIN MARTINAdvisers close to U.S. President Barack Obama have been drafted by David Cameron to help the Conservatives in theirelection campaign against Gordon Brown and Labour.The Tories have signed a contract with Squier Knapp Dunn Communications—a Washington-based Democrat-leaningpolitical consultancy— to help them prepare for the first-ever television debates between leaders during a British electioncamialin.David CameronThe firm also is expected to offer some advice more broadly to the Tory leader on the Conservative campaign in the lead-up to voting likely to take place on May 6.Opinion polls have suggested a narrowing of the gap between the two main parties—with the Conservative lead cut to sixto seven points in the two most recent polls earlier this week.A Conservative spokesman confirmed Wednesday night that Squier Knapp Dunn will act as consultants for the televisiondebates.Anita Dunn one of the firm's senior partners was hired by Mr. Obama in 2006 ahead of his run for president and was thecommunications director at the White House until November. Bill Knapp another senior partner and veteran of thesuccessful Obama campaign is a close adviser to the mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg.Tory campaign insiders say they have been talking to the firm for several months after a recommendation from MayorBloomberg who retains close links with the British Tory leadership.He was a lifelong Democrat who switched to the Republicans when he first ran for mayor.The British general election is taking on a particularly American flavor with the prime minister also understood to beseeking advice from a consultant based in the U.S. The Times of London reported that Joel Benenson a polling andstrategy adviser who worked on the team that readied Mr. Obama for the American TV debates is helping Mr. Brown.None of the British parties has experience of leaders' debates and as a consequence are looking outside for help.However it is the decision of the Tories to reach out across the traditional ideological divide to senior Democrats that issurprising. Their party usually has looked to Republican strategists for advice with Labour and the Democrats retainingclose links.Ms. Dunn is a veteran of Democrat politics beginning her career in Jimmy Carter's administration and subsequentlyworking as a consultant on many election campaigns. She returned to the White House with President Obama but left latelast year when her husband Robert Bauer the president's personal attorney was unveiled as the incoming White Housecounsel.Mr. Knapp made television ads for the Obama campaign has worked on five presidential campaigns and played a leadingrole in Mayor Bloomberg's three election wins.The pre-election atmosphere in the U.K. has become increasingly fraught with the parties trading blows on allegations ofbullying inside No. 10 Downing Street made in a new book on the Labour government by journalist Andrew Rawnsley.In the latest developments the prime minister Wednesday in a GMTV breakfast television interview denied that he hadknown about briefings by some of his aides against Alistair Darling his chancellor of the exchequer.In a remarkably frank interview Tuesday with Jeff Randall of Sky News Mr. Darling said that when he remarked in thesummer of 2008 that the worst global recession in 60 years was underway No. 10 had ""unleashed the forces of hell.""Mr Brown said on GMTV: ""I was never part of anything to do with this. Look this was the most amazing time.. .and lots ofthings were happening in this time. But I would never instruct anybody to do anything other than support my chancellorand I think Alistair will confirm that.""At a rowdy Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons Wednesday Mr. Cameron questioned Mr. Brown on therow.Write to lain Martin at iain.martinwsi.comCopyright 2009 Dow Jones & Company Inc. All Rights Reserved"