Government and subsequent activity

Campbell was appointed Minister of Regional Development in the Northern Ireland Executive in July 2000. On 9 June 2008, Campbell took over the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, replacing Edwin Poots, following a reshuffle of the DUP's ministerial team by newly appointed First Minister Peter Robinson. He was replaced in this role by party colleague Nelson McCausland following another reshuffle on 22 June 2009 and the announcement by Peter Robinson that DUP politicians would no longer hold office in the Assembly and serve as MPs at Westminster simultaneously.^[8]

In October 2008, Campbell spoke out against the American cartoon The Simpsons, after the Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes episode showed a fight between nationalists and unionists. The episode also featured references to the IRA. Campbell said, "The Simpsons is a humorous cartoon but the context of using a line like that about an organisation which caused so much death will lead people to have very mixed views."^[9]

In December 2008, Campbell criticised the singer Dido for her song "Let's Do the Things We Normally Do", which referenced lyrics from a song, "The Men Behind the Wire". The original song had been written in response to internment in Northern Ireland and Campbell suggested that Dido "should clarify her position so that her fans and the wider public knows where she stands on these things".^[10]

In 2009, Campbell declared his support for capital punishment in "some cases" during a Westminster Parliament debate.^[11]

In 2011 a man was convicted and was given a suspended jail sentence and fined after posting a menacing message on Facebook about Campbell.^[12] In February 2012, Campbell voiced opposition to the redrawing of the electoral borders in Northern Ireland, stating that they "will have a detrimental effect on the north west."^[13] Campbell supports a number of evangelical Protestant groups including a creationist lobby group, the Caleb Foundation.^[14]

He has been critical of some Twitter comments by Derry-born footballer James McClean and condemned McClean's decision not to wear a poppy on his shirt in the buildup to Remembrance Sunday in 2012. McClean, who played for Sunderland at the time, had stated on Twitter that his favourite song was "The Broad Black Brimmer" by the republican folk group The Wolfe Tones.^[15] Campbell commented, "I've been watching him closely and knew he would slip up sooner or later." Subsequently, McClean was banned from using Twitter from his club. Campbell was offered an invitation to a Wolfe Tones concert, which he declined.^[16]

In March 2013, Campbell made a successful parliamentary motion to stop a one-off concept car made by the motor company Kia from ever going into production. The show car was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show and was named "Provo" after the Italian word Prova, meaning trial or test. He put forward a motion at the House of Commons to stop any possible development of the car, due to the connotations the name might have in Ireland ("Provos" is a common shortened form of Provisional IRA), although the car was never intended to go into production. A spokesperson for Kia said in a statement it would be certain not to market any future car as a "Provo" in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland,^[17] adding: "This car is a showcase, it's a little bit of frivolity, it's for a motor show in Switzerland designed by an Italian at a design studio in Frankfurt."^[18]

In November 2014, Campbell became embroiled in a controversy after parodying the Irish language while addressing the Northern Ireland Assembly. Mocking the nationalist MLAs' tradition of beginning addressing the Assembly with the Gaelic words "go raibh maith agat, Ceann Comhairle" ("thank you, Speaker"), he opened a question about minority language policy saying "curry my yoghurt, can coca coalyer", corrupting the Gaelic phrase by speaking it in his native Northern Irish Accent. Campbell was unwilling to apologise, and was temporarily censured.^[19] He said at the DUP's annual conference later that month: "On behalf of our party let me say clearly, and slowly so that Caitríona Ruane and Gerry Adams understand, we will never agree to an Irish Language Act at Stormont and we will treat their entire wish list as no more than toilet paper."^[20]

In March 2019, Campbell was one of 21 MPs who voted against LGBT inclusive sex and relationship education in English schools.^[21][22]

In February 2021, Campbell was urged by anti-racism organisations to apologise after describing, on Facebook, an edition of Songs of Praise that featured only black people as the "BBC at its BLM worst." Campbell wrote: "There were five singers, all of them black. There were three judges all of them black and one presenter who was incidentally, yes black. The singers were all very good but can you imagine an all white line up with an all white jury and presented by a white person? No I can't either."^[23][24]

Campbell is one of three DUP MPs on a list of journalists, military figures and MPs on list along with staff from most major British newspapers and broadcasters banned by the Russian authorities in June 2022, as a response to international sanctions and the “spreading of false information about Russia”, as well as “anti-Russian actions of the British government”.^[25]