Tony Blair

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CIA: Rendition Flights Landed in UK Territory

Brits apologize for earlier denials of ties to terror cases

(Newser) - Two US flights carrying terror suspects for interrogation abroad—a practice known as extraordinary rendition—landed on British territory in 2002, confirmed CIA Director Michael Hayden today. Though the UK previously denied such landings, Foreign Secretary David Miliband admitted planes refueled on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, reports...

Former UK Intel Boss Refutes Diana Charges

He says agents didn't kill princess, calls allegations absurd

(Newser) - In uncharacteristic public statements, the former head of British intelligence service MI6 denied during a court appearance today that agents were behind Princess Diana's 1997 death, the Telegraph reports. While Sir Richard Dearlove—known as "C" during his 1999-2004 tenure as agency boss—admitted MI6 can authorize assassinations, he...

Foes Mobilize to Block Blair as First Euro Prez

Iron support for US still rankles

(Newser) - Stiff opposition is mounting against the possibility of former British prime minister Tony Blair being named the first president of Europe. A "Stop Blair" website has been launched, and a cross-party caucus in the European parliament is forming to campaign against him. A new treaty about to be ratified...

Saudis Killed Arms Probe Under Blair

Prince threatened to withhold terror info; predicted 'another 7/7'

(Newser) - The Saudi royal family threatened to withhold information about planned terrorist attacks on London unless British authorities suspended an investigation into corrupt arms deals, court documents show. Prince Bandar flew to London in December 2006 to warn investigators they faced "another 7/7," referring to the four bombs that...

Blair Eyes Role as Europe's First President

Ex-British PM wants post to have strong say on defense, trade

(Newser) - Tony Blair is angling to become Europe’s first president, the Guardian reports, but the former British PM wants to be assured the EU’s new top job will come with real authority on defense and trade. Blair, currently the Mideast envoy for the US, EU, UN, and Russia, has...

The Cry Echoes: Leave Britney Alone!
The Cry
Echoes: Leave Britney Alone!
OPINION
Feb 1, 2008 10:48 AM CST

The Cry Echoes: Leave Britney Alone!

Tony Blair's spin doctor speaks up for troubled pop star

(Newser) - As Britney Spears' public meltdown continues, the pop star has found an unlikely defender: Alistair Campbell, Tony Blair's spin doctor. Writing in the Times of London, Campbell confesses to being a big Spears fan—her songs keep "popping up in the '25 most listened to' on my running iPod"...

Power Brokers Return to Davos
Power Brokers Return to Davos
Jan 22, 2008 12:00 PM CST

Power Brokers Return to Davos

World Economic Forum slights Hollywood, gets back to business

(Newser) - The Swiss ski resort of Davos turns into a giant think tank tomorrow as politicians, financiers, and other masters of the universe gather for the World Economic Forum. This year's summit will eschew some of the Hollywood glamor of sessions past, the Independent reports: Emma Thompson will put in an...

Blair Takes $1M Part-Time JPMorgan Job

Ex-PM will advise on global politics, retain Mideast envoy role

(Newser) - Former British PM Tony Blair will advise JPMorgan Chase on global politics, and pick up a check in the neighborhood of $1 million for his part-time trouble. Blair will keep his current job as the Quartet's envoy to the Middle East, reports the Times of London, but it's hardly his...

Blair Now Officially Catholic
Blair Now Officially Catholic
Dec 22, 2007 11:16 AM CST

Blair Now Officially Catholic

Former British PM makes long-awaited conversion

(Newser) - Tony Blair converted to Catholicism yesterday, confirming months of rumors that he would switch from the Church of England, the UK Times reports. "I am very glad to receive Tony Blair into the Catholic church," said the archbishop of Westminster, who performed the ceremony in London. The former...

Faith Doesn't Play in British Politics

Blair complains that any UK pol who cites God is considered 'a nutter'

(Newser) - Soon-to-be-Catholic Tony Blair has confessed that faith was "hugely important"  in decisions he made as Britain's prime minister, and he wished he could, like President Bush, have been open about it at the time. But Britons are suspicious of religion, Blair said in a TV interview reported in...

Blair Floats Palestinian Jobs Plan
Blair Floats
Palestinian Jobs Plan
Nov 19, 2007 11:00 AM CST

Blair Floats Palestinian Jobs Plan

Mideast envoy offers 'quick impact project' ahead of Annapolis summit

(Newser) - In his first major undertaking as the international community's Mideast envoy, Tony Blair will disclose plans today to provide tens of thousands of jobs for Palestinians, the Guardian reports. The multimillion-dollar projects come in the lead-up to the peace talks in Annapolis next week. "This is part of the...

Blair to Convert to Catholicism
Blair to Convert to Catholicism
Nov 10, 2007 2:36 PM CST

Blair to Convert to Catholicism

Long-rumored move expected in next few weeks

(Newser) - Tony Blair will officially become a Catholic in the next few weeks, a Catholic newspaper says, after years of signing off on Anglican appointments as prime minister. The conversion isn't a shock—Blair often attended Mass with his Catholic wife and child. But the Church of England’s official status,...

UK Secretary in DC to Mend Fences With US

Miliband eases Bush-Brown chill, backs Rice's Iran approach

(Newser) - The British foreign secretary arrived in Washington last night, and David Miliband now faces the unenviable task of mending a deepening rift between the Bush administration and Gordon Brown. The speed of the UK's pullback in Basra—not to mention the PM's coolness toward President Bush—has irked a White...

Nobel Laureate Downplays 9/11
Nobel Laureate Downplays 9/11
Oct 23, 2007 9:03 AM CDT

Nobel Laureate Downplays 9/11

Lessing: IRA violence in Ireland was worse than WTC attacks; Americans are 'naive'

(Newser) - Freshly minted Nobel laureate Doris Lessing said the 9/11 terrorist assault on the World Trade Center “wasn’t that terrible” in comparison to violence wreaked by the IRA in Britain. "Some Americans will think I'm crazy," she said in an interview in Spanish daily El Pais. "...

In London, Giuliani Picks Up Cred and Cash

Hopeful meets with three PMs and no shortage of donors

(Newser) - Rudy Giuliani left behind the cornfields of Iowa for cosmopolitan London yesterday, where he met with campaign contributors and no fewer than three prime ministers. After a visit to Tony Blair's new offices and to Gordon Brown at No. 10, Giuliani got his most desired photo-op of all, writes the...

Brown Leans Right In Major Speech
Brown Leans Right In Major Speech
Sep 10, 2007 12:36 PM CDT

Brown Leans Right In Major Speech

PM's first address to unions rebuffs demands for pay raises

(Newser) - Gordon Brown received a cool reception in his first address as prime minister to Britain's Trade Union Conference, traditionally Labour's largest constituency. After 10 years of tense relations with Tony Blair, the unions had hoped that Brown would offer a more left-wing policy. But Brown insisted that he would oppose...

UK Asks US to Release Gitmo Suspects

Brown wants 5 Britons freed from US custody in change of policy

(Newser) - The United Kingdom wants the US to let go of five British residents detained at the terrorist detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. Green PM Gordon Brown made the official request, hinting that he may be distancing himself from the Bush administration and carving a more independent terror policy than Tony...

Blair Debuts as Mideast Envoy
Blair Debuts as Mideast Envoy
Jul 23, 2007 3:12 PM CDT

Blair Debuts as Mideast Envoy

Ex-PM the only one smiling as he tackles plan to build a viable Palestinian state

(Newser) - Less than a month after vacating 10 Downing, Tony Blair jumped into his new role as Mideast peace envoy today, meeting Jordanian and Israeli leaders in Jerusalem. Tomorrow he  sits down with  Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas, and Wednesday with Israeli PM Ehud Olmert. Blair remains upbeat in the face of...

Hamas Rips Blair Peace Mission
Hamas Rips Blair Peace Mission
Jun 28, 2007 5:18 AM CDT

Hamas Rips Blair Peace Mission

Former Brit chief 'not honest, not helpful'

(Newser) - Hamas, the Palestinian group now in control of Gaza, blasted Tony Blair's appointment as a Mideast peace envoy yesterday, characterizing the former British prime minister as "not honest and not helpful," and a puppet of the US and Israel, the BBC reports. Blair's new role, formalized hours after...

Exit Blair
Exit Blair
Jun 27, 2007 8:30 AM CDT

Exit Blair

PM takes final questions; queen asks Brown to form government

(Newser) - Tony Blair handed his resignation to the queen at 1:15 this afternoon, ending a decade as prime minister of the United Kingdom marked by unprecedented prosperity but marred by a deeply unpopular war in Iraq. In a choreographed ritual, Elizabeth II asked Chancellor Gordon Brown, who has been waiting...

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