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| Tony Blair's police protection costs taxpayers millions, report claims | Tony Blair's police protection costs taxpayers millions, report claims |
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| Tony Blair is reportedly costing the taxpayer millions of pounds a year in police protection, as well as allegedly blurring the line between his work as a Middle East peace envoy and his business interests. | Tony Blair is reportedly costing the taxpayer millions of pounds a year in police protection, as well as allegedly blurring the line between his work as a Middle East peace envoy and his business interests. |
| Blair requires as many as 12 police protection officers due to his former role as prime minister and his advocacy of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, it is claimed in a Daily Telegraph investigation published on Friday. | Blair requires as many as 12 police protection officers due to his former role as prime minister and his advocacy of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, it is claimed in a Daily Telegraph investigation published on Friday. |
| Documents seen by the Telegraph allegedly show that Blair sometimes visits up to five countries a week, at a potential cost of between £14,000 and £16,000 to the public purse. The paper reported that each of the 12 officers was likely to be earning at least £56,000 but could earn more than £70,000 due to the overtime they accumulate on foreign trips. | Documents seen by the Telegraph allegedly show that Blair sometimes visits up to five countries a week, at a potential cost of between £14,000 and £16,000 to the public purse. The paper reported that each of the 12 officers was likely to be earning at least £56,000 but could earn more than £70,000 due to the overtime they accumulate on foreign trips. |
| In 2010 the Mail on Sunday reported that the cost of Blair’s diplomatic protection was £250,000 a year, double the cost for Gordon Brown. The Home Office oversees the cost of police protection for former prime ministers, and there have been previous calls by Tory MPs for Blair to make a larger contribution towards the cost of his protection. | In 2010 the Mail on Sunday reported that the cost of Blair’s diplomatic protection was £250,000 a year, double the cost for Gordon Brown. The Home Office oversees the cost of police protection for former prime ministers, and there have been previous calls by Tory MPs for Blair to make a larger contribution towards the cost of his protection. |
| The Telegraph inquiry suggests that when he flies on private jets, Blair does not ask for the taxpayer to foot the bill, but if he is abroad as many as eight police protection officers accompany him. | The Telegraph inquiry suggests that when he flies on private jets, Blair does not ask for the taxpayer to foot the bill, but if he is abroad as many as eight police protection officers accompany him. |
| Blair has repeatedly defended his luxury globe-trotting, arguing that his lifestyle is no more lavish than that of other diplomats. Other specific claims in the report were also denied by Blair’s office, in a statement released later that day. | |
| The former prime minister is standing down as Middle East envoy, where his role trying to build the Palestinian economy has been circumscribed by the failure of efforts to secure a wider peace settlement in Israel and Palestine, something for which he has no official responsibility. | |
| Blair is to take on a new role tackling antisemitism as chairman of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, which campaigns for stronger laws against extremism across the continent. | Blair is to take on a new role tackling antisemitism as chairman of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, which campaigns for stronger laws against extremism across the continent. |
| Related: Tony Blair appointed as head of European body fighting antisemitism | Related: Tony Blair appointed as head of European body fighting antisemitism |
| Ironically, the latest accusations come amid fresh efforts to rehabilitate the Blair government’s reputation in the Labour party after several years in which it was consistently criticised by Ed Miliband’s team. One shadow cabinet member said: “We have got to stop treating the politics of a man that won us three elections like he is dirt.” | Ironically, the latest accusations come amid fresh efforts to rehabilitate the Blair government’s reputation in the Labour party after several years in which it was consistently criticised by Ed Miliband’s team. One shadow cabinet member said: “We have got to stop treating the politics of a man that won us three elections like he is dirt.” |
| However, the consistent reports about his lavish lifestyle and the opaque nature of his business empire make it harder for those who support his politics to get a hearing. | |
| The latest report suggests: | The latest report suggests: |
| But Tony Blair’s office issued a strong rebuttal of many of the claims, saying he is not being paid £1m by the World Bank. | |
| The office also denied that Blair had used his position in the Quartet to sign lucrative deals for his own organisation. He said the Quartet office along with then prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, Salam Fayyad, sought to turn funds pledged at the 2007 and 2009 donor conferences for Palestine into reality. | |
| In June 2009, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development announced a grant of $45m (£28.8m) for the Palestinian Authority. The money was to help fund community development projects in the West Bank. This was a new commitment from the Abu Dhabi Fund, the office said. | |
| Blair’s office said there was a “rigorous systems in place to prevent conflicts of interest arising, including the standard practice of legal contracts containing a clause which states that Blair will not undertake any work that conflicts with his responsibilities as Quartet Representative” . |