Newsman is new press secretary

US: President Bush's new spokesman is a conservative commentator who has criticised the administration and last year described the president as an embarrassment. A Fox News anchor who has also worked in newspapers and radio, Tony Snow is the first working journalist to be appointed White House press secretary since 1974.

"As a professional journalist, Tony Snow understands the importance of the relationship between government and those whose job it is to cover the government.

"He's going to work hard to provide you with timely information about my philosophy, my priorities and the actions we're taking to implement our agenda," Mr Bush said.

Mr Snow's political commentary has been mostly supportive of Mr Bush but he has criticised the administration's failure to control public spending and to take charge of the domestic agenda. Last November, he complained that Mr Bush had "lost his swagger" and was wavering in his conservatism.

"The newly passive George Bush has become something of an embarrassment," Mr Snow wrote.

The president yesterday made light of the criticism, praising Mr Snow for not being afraid to express his own opinions.

"I asked him about those comments and he said, 'You should have heard what I said about the other guy'. I like his perspective, I like the perspective he brings to this job, and I think you're going to like it too," he said.

Mr Snow is likely to bring a dramatically new style to White House briefings, which had become increasingly tense in recent months as suspicion deepened between the press corps and the former spokesman, Scott McClellan.

Mr Snow has signalled he will adopt a more open style and seek better access for journalists to senior White House figures. "We've got a lot of important things that all of us are going to be covering together," he said.