View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. News
June 28, 2007

Northern Echo scoops exclusive Blair interview

By Press Gazette

The Northern Echo scooped a world exclusive interview with Tony Blair on his final day as Prime Minister.

The editor of Blair’s local newspaper, Peter Barron, and political editor Chris Lloyd were invited to join the former leader on his train taking him back to London yesterday evening.

Blair said his legacy would be improved public welfare and reforms in education and the health service and moves towards the basic state pension being relinked to earnings.

He celebrated the appointment of the first black leader of the House of Lords, Baroness Amos, and said winning the 2012 Olympics showed pride in our country.

He added: ‘For the first time in my political lifetime, and indeed for the first time in the history of the Labour Party, the Conservatives have had to come to terms with us, rather than the other way round. This means [we] have changed politics in a more fundamental way than simply winning an election.”

In the interview, Blair told of his plans to take on a job as the UN, the US, Europe and Russia’s representative in the Middle East and that as a result he would be immediately standing down as MP for Sedgefield.

In his new role, he said he would prepare the ground for a ‘negotiated settlement’in the Middle East and prepare Palestine for statehood.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

He described meeting the Queen on his final day as a ‘very warm and generous meeting’and on receiving his standing ovation he said: ‘Maybe you become a little emotional, when you suddenly realise that these are the last words you are ever going to say, not just from the Despatch Box but in the House of Commons, which after all is the mother of democracy and the most famous political institution in the world.”

Asked about the Iraq war, he said: ‘I don’t regret removing Saddam. You can argue about all these issues like de-baathification of the army and disbanding it and so on. The real reason we have got a problem in Iraq is that the enemy we face is not [there] because someone somewhere ticked the wrong box.

‘The worst moments are always when I hear about the deaths of our armed forces. That’s not to say that don’t have a great sense of responsibility for the decision making, I do, but I also don’t believe that their evil can entertain our respect.”

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network