Tony Blair's Blog

Blair to face Howard over Butler

2004-07-15T22:27:00.000+01:00

Tony Blair will go head-to-head with Tory leader Michael Howard in a Commons debate on Iraq and the Butler inquiry next week, Downing Street has said.

A failure of the system

2004-07-14T02:48:00.000+01:00

A government cannot go to war on a false pretext. Either Blair apologises - or there must be a change of leader

Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction

2004-07-14T02:31:00.000+01:00

The Butler Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction will be published at 1230 BST (1130GMT) today. You'll be able to find it to read for yourself at butlerreview.org.uk.

Butler report will contain no lethal 'silver bullet'

2004-07-14T01:43:00.000+01:00

The six-month Butler inquiry into the war in Iraq reports today. The Times looks at some of the crucial questions.

Lord Butler has some easy conclusions to draw about Blair and the Iraq intelligence

2004-07-14T01:27:00.000+01:00

The idea of presenting a report on the Nigerian uranium that doesn't send removal vans to wait outside 11 Downing Street is inconceivable at this moment. Will Robin Butler -- the man who would acquit Neil Hamilton and Jonathan Aitken -- see his rôle as duty to citizenry or to incumbent masters?

Day Before Review of Iraq Intelligence, Blair Stands Firm

2004-07-14T01:01:00.000+01:00

The British report is more perilous for Prime Minister Tony Blair than the U.S. findings were for President Bush.

One day before the potentially damaging publication of a major report into British intelligence in the period before the invasion of Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Blair today defended his still-contentious decision to send British troops to war against Saddam Hussein.

Whatever Butler's verdict, Blair will know no shame

2004-07-14T00:44:00.000+01:00

Nothing better testifies to Blair’s lawyer instincts than his reluctance to admit he was wrong.

Blair primed for crucial verdict from Butler

2004-07-14T00:30:00.000+01:00

Tony Blair paved the way for today's potentially critical Butler report on the accuracy of the intelligence on Iraq's banned weapons by insisting that the world was made safer by ending Saddam Hussein's dictatorship.

The prime minister spoke to reporters barely an hour after his office had formally received its copy of Lord Butler's inquiry. Aides were quick to say that Mr Blair was not shifting the goalposts away from the divisive issue of weapons of mass destruction.

The Butler Review - it's coming

2004-07-13T18:24:00.000+01:00

The real question is how criticism will be directed at Tony Blair. Given the almost indecent haste with which Blair appointed Scarlett to MI6, and considering that Blair either lied about WMDs or was incompetent in his use/understanding of the material presented to him, then it seems almost inevitable that the Prime Minister must accept ultimate responsibility.

Blair defiant ahead of Iraq inquiry

2004-07-13T17:33:00.000+01:00

Tony Blair brushes questions on the inquiry into intelligence about Iraq aside but defends his decision to go to war.

Tony Blair 'will stay on as PM'

2004-07-10T16:14:00.000+01:00

Colleagues of Tony Blair insist he will stay on as Prime Minister despite BBC reports that he considered quitting.

Blair will stay if he loses EU poll

2004-07-08T02:43:00.000+01:00

Tony Blair would not quit as prime minister even if he lost the referendum on the EU constitution, his closest political ally said tonight.

Former minister Peter Mandelson said Mr Blair would be "irresponsible even to think of walking away" if he lost the poll.

Blair says WMD 'may never be found'

2004-07-06T13:58:00.000+01:00

Prime Minister Tony Blair has told MPs he has to accept Iraq's weapons of mass destruction "may never be found".

Mandelson gives backing to Brown

2004-07-04T10:56:00.000+01:00

Chancellor Gordon Brown is Tony Blair's "natural successor", former Cabinet colleague Peter Mandelson says.

'Fahrenheit 9/11' Director Has Blair in Sights

2004-06-12T13:02:00.000+01:00

Michael Moore's anti-Iraq war crusade is not stopping with President Bush as the filmmaker says he now wants to make a movie about British Prime Minister Tony Blair's role in the war.

Labour takes a beating

2004-06-12T11:32:00.000+01:00

A badly mauled Tony Blair was last night facing emphatic backbench calls to return to the domestic agenda and display a new respect for his party after Labour suffered its worst 24 hours at the polling booths since the mid-70s.

Pressure on Blair after elections

2004-06-12T10:10:00.000+01:00

Tony Blair is facing further questions about his leadership after the worst performance by a governing party in the local elections.

It was a difficult time and "lessons had to be learned", he said.

Blair Era Not at End, Says Blunkett

2004-06-11T21:49:00.000+01:00

Tony Blair’s premiership is safe despite Labour’s drubbing in the local elections, Home Secretary David Blunkett insisted today.

Labour slumped to third place in the polls with the Conservatives in striking distance of a General Election victory, according to a projection of results.

The People Have Spoken - A Song for Tony Blair

2004-06-11T18:06:00.000+01:00

And now, the end is near
And so I've faced my last election.
My friends, you've made it clear,
You've fucked me up, with your selection.

I've lived a life that's smug.
I've grinned like Turpin on a highway
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Lies, I've told a few
But then again, I won't be rueing.
I did what George told me to
And saw it through without the UN

We planned each bombing course
Each reckless step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I thought Gordon was a pile of poo
But through it all, when there were rows
I shut him up, and slapped his jowels.
I faced him down, and made him frown
And did it my way.

I've loved, I've laughed and cried.
Sometimes for real, but mostly contrived.
And now, as votes subside,
I wonder how I got that landslide

To think I did all that
And may I say, in quite a sly way,
Ah yes, oh that was me
I did it my way.

For what is a man, what has he got?
In Peter's case, bum sex a lot
And Alastair, where is he now?
As he's fucked off, I'll take my bow
The record shows, my record blows
I did it my way.

How bad is it for Blair?

2004-06-11T12:13:00.000+01:00

Only the most pessimistic of Labour managers had expected it to be quite this bad.

With about half the local council results in, the party was heading for one of its worst ever performances.

Labour takes hit at polls

2004-06-11T07:27:00.000+01:00

Tony Blair has been dealt a severe blow by voters as Labour plunged to third place in the local elections, the party's worst showing in living memory.

Conservatives polled 38%, putting them within striking distance of a majority at a general election.

Bad night at the polls for Labour

2004-06-11T05:30:00.000+01:00

Labour is suffering heavy losses in local elections in England and Wales, with several councils changing hands.

The party has lost more than 200 seats and fallen into third place according to a BBC projection of results.

"Shadow" cast over Blair and Labour

2004-06-11T03:23:00.000+01:00

Tony Blair conceded this evening that the Iraq war had cast a "shadow" over Labour's campaign for today's local, London and European elections.

Speaking as the polls closed, the prime minister said: "Iraq and the worries over Iraq have been a shadow over our support, but in the end you have to take decisions that are right and you have to see them through."

Blair 'would not have majority'

2004-06-11T01:46:00.000+01:00

Tony Blair would not win a majority if a general election was held tomorrow, according to a new poll.

Labour would receive just 32% of the vote compared to the Tories' 36%, it emerged as polls for the local and European elections closed.

Tony Blair Government Dissed Over Racist Immigration Policy

2004-06-11T01:41:00.000+01:00

A leaked memo that claims British Prime Minister Tony Blair wants to cut down significantly on immigrants from Jamaica, India, Pakistan and Kenya among others, has advocates in Britain screaming racism.

Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesman Mark Oaten was quoted as saying recently the plan smacks of discrimination. "The color of someone's skin or nationality should not be the determining factor," he said.

Blair losing voters' trust

2004-06-11T00:58:00.000+01:00

Tony Blair's rating among voters has plummeted since last year's local elections, according to a poll conducted by ICM for the BBC.

Blair invites G8 to the UK

2004-06-10T23:09:00.000+01:00

Prime Minister Tony Blair has confirmed that the next G8 summit of the world's leading economies will take place at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire.

The UK will take over the presidency of the economic forum in 2005 and the leaders of the world's most powerful countries are expected to meet in July.

Mr Blair said: "A major part of the G8 at Gleneagles will be the work of the Africa commission, which we have established, and the report back from that.

"Hopefully then we will have a series of actions from the G8 in order to make progress there."

Climb-down over Nato role in Iraq

2004-06-10T22:03:00.000+01:00

Tony Blair and George Bush have conceded there will be no large-scale deployment of Nato troops in Iraq.

The Big Intervention

2004-06-10T21:14:00.000+01:00

"We should have the confidence to open up the debate, be honest about the challenges, lay out the real choices".

Labour Needs Leadership Change

2004-06-09T09:43:00.000+01:00

If you believe that Labour is in desperate need of leadership change, then please sign this petition.

Labour "to decide Blair's future"

2004-06-07T07:42:00.000+01:00

Tony Blair has said it is up to the Labour Party to decide whether he should resign as leader.

The prime minister had previously pledged to quit if his leadership became an electoral liability to his party.

Your looks won't last, Blair tells Spain's PM

2004-06-04T01:28:00.000+01:00

Tony Blair, whose seven years in office have taken their toll on his youthful looks, has warned his Spanish counterpart that his boyish good-looks would not last.

"He's younger and better looking than I am," Blair, 51, joked on Thursday at a joint news conference in London with Spain's Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who took up office less than two months ago at the age of 43.