THE TELEGRAPH: The Brexit vote has brought many unintended side effects - one of which is Tony Blair's return to politics, 20 years after he won a landslide general election.
As we head towards another of those - but this time with a Conservative government poised to take the victory - the former Prime Minister spoke of his ambitions to soften Brexit and "shape policy debate".
He told The Mirror: "This Brexit thing has given me a direct motivation to get more involved in the politics.
You need to get your hands dirty and I will." Read on and comment » | Helena Horton | Monday, May 1, 2017
THE GUARDIAN: Labour’s only chance lies in convincing voters that it will hold the government to account on any deal with the EU
There is a unique element to this election as a result of Brexit. The Tories believe this is to their advantage. But it could be turned against them.
First off – for the avoidance of doubt – I have not urged tactical voting. It is up to each voter to make up their mind on how they will vote. I only want people to make an informed choice. Of course, I hope people will vote Labour, as I will. » | Tony Blair | Monday, April 24, 2017
Feb.17 -- Former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair declared that Britons have the right to change their mind on leaving the European Union as he urged opponents to rally against the U.K. government's policy of "Brexit at any cost." Blair spoke in a speech at Bloomberg LP's European headquarters in London.
THE GUARDIAN: Former PM says that the British people were misinformed by Brexit campaign and would be correct to change their minds
Tony Blair will declare his mission to persuade the UK to stay in the EU today, calling for remain supporters to “rise up in defence of what we believe”.
The former prime minister will make the statement at his first big speech since the EU referendum, arguing that people were misinformed when they voted for Brexit.
“The people voted without knowledge of the true terms of Brexit. As these terms become clear, it is their right to change their mind,” he is expected to say. “Our mission is to persuade them to do so.” » | Rowena Mason, Deputy Political Editor | Thursday, February 16, 2017
His office has denied reports in the media, but Tony Blair's inner circle say they would not be surprised to see the former prime minister make a return to British politics. Would he be welcomed? Or is he seen as being too toxic? Emily Maitlis speaks to Caroline Lucas, joint leader of the Greens, and John McTernan, former adviser to Tony Blair.
Former prime minister Tony Blair is interviewed on French radio on Thursday and says that he still believes the people of the UK could change their minds on leaving the European Union. Equating the Brexit vote to having bought a new house without having ever seen it, Blair states that there is no reason to ‘end the debate now’ and maintains the British people still have the right to override the result
CNN: (CNN) – Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he's sorry for "mistakes" made in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, but he doesn't regret bringing down dictator Saddam Hussein.
"I can say that I apologize for the fact that the intelligence we received was wrong because, even though he had used chemical weapons extensively against his own people, against others, the program in the form that we thought it was did not exist in the way that we thought," Blair said in an exclusive interview on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS that airs Sunday.
Blair was referring to the claim that Saddam's regime possessed weapons of mass destruction, which was used by the U.S. and British governments to justify launching the invasion. But the intelligence reports the claim was based on turned out to be false.
The ensuing war and dismantling of Saddam's government plunged Iraq into chaos, resulting in years of deadly sectarian violence and the rise of al Qaeda in Iraq, a precursor of ISIS. Tens of thousands of Iraqis, more than 4,000 U.S. troops and 179 British service members were killed in the lengthy conflict.
As the most high-profile foreign ally of former U.S. President George W. Bush in the Iraq invasion, Blair has found his legacy overshadowed by the war, with questions and criticism following him wherever he goes.
The consequences of Bush's decision to to take America into Iraq has repeatedly reared its head this year among candidates vying for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. (+ CNN video) » | Jethro Mullen, CNN | Sunday, October 25, 2015
A British newspaper reports that the US is withholding documents that could help explain why Tony Blair decided to join the invasion of Iraq. Washington’s refusal to declassify the documents has become a major scandal in London. RT’s Gayane Chichakyan asked the US State Department about the obstruction of the Chilcot Inquiry documents and received a surprising answer.
