Blair claims he feared wrath of media barons
TONY Blair yesterday told the Leveson inquiry that British politicians have little choice but to court media tycoons because the alternative is press attacks that are “full on, full frontal” and “day in, day out”.
The former Prime Minister said that as a result he chose to “manage” relations with newspapers during his time in office, rather than directly challenge their authority.
“With any of these big media groups, you fall out with them, you watch out, because it is literally relentless and unremitting once that happens,” Blair told the inquiry into media ethics.
“My view is that that is what creates this situation in which these media people get a power in the system that is unhealthy. I took the strategic decision to manage this and not confront it but the power of it is indisputable.”
Blair was consistently criticised by the left wing of his party for courting media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and right wing newspapers during his leadership of the party.
But he explained that it was a necessary measure to win elections and implement policies.
“If you fall out with the controlling element of the Daily Mail, you are then going to be subject to a huge and sustained attack,” he said.
Blair added that Rupert Murdoch “didn’t lobby” him on media issues and that his government had “never given an assurance to Mr Murdoch or anybody else” that they would have seek permission for major policy changes.
But he admitted that he would approach appropriate media outlets to prepare the way for new announcements.
Proceedings were briefly disrupted when a protestor wearing a white shirt and chino trousers ran into the court room from a supposedly secure corridor. He was removed by security guards after shouting “This man is a war criminal” and “JP Morgan paid him off for the Iraq war”.
The man was identified as David Lawley-Wakelin, 49, a film maker who made a documentary entitled “The Alternative Iraq Enquiry”.
After he was removed Blair said that “what he said about Iraq and JP Morgan is completely and totally untrue”.