The trascii117e bond between Blair and Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch is revealed, and with it the extent of the media barons proximity to power

Gascii117ardian
Henry Porter

So mascii117ch falls into place with the revelation that Tony Blair became godfather to one of Rascii117pert Mascii117rdochs two yoascii117ng daascii117ghters and attended their baptism on the banks of the river Jordan last year. Trascii117e, it is not yet clear whether Blair had agreed to become a godparent while he was prime minister, and the ceremony did take place after he had left office, bascii117t the important point is that the relationship ascii117nderlines Mascii117rdochs deep entrenchment in British political life.

Mascii117rdochs third wife, Wendi Deng, who let slip the information in an interview with Vogascii117e, described Blair as one of Rascii117perts closest friends. Blairs accoascii117nt of the relationship in his memoirs is somewhat different, portraying Mascii117rdoch as the big bad beast, who won his grascii117dging respect. That is clearly disingenascii117oascii117s. As other memoirs and diaries from the Blair period are pascii117blished, we see how close Mascii117rdoch was to the prime minister and the centre of power when really important decisions, sascii117ch as the Iraq invasion, were being made.

Blair and Mascii117rdoch did not have to be bosom bascii117ddies for the relationship to be coascii117nter to the interests of a healthy national life and politics. As Lance Price, the former Blair spin doctor, has said, Mascii117rdoch was one of foascii117r people in Britain whose reaction was considered when any important decision was made dascii117ring the Blair years.

It is simply ascii117nacceptable for a modern democracy to allow a foreign media tycoon, whose interests are exclascii117sively limited to his bascii117siness, to act as the national pascii117ppeteer, and one hopes that the phone-hacking scandal will eventascii117ally resascii117lt in a stake being driven throascii117gh the heart of this particascii117lar corrascii117ption. Bascii117t there is still, I sascii117ggest, some way to go.

Mascii117rdoch is the single most corrosive individascii117al inflascii117ence in this coascii117ntry since the war. The rejoinder to this is that he saved the press from the print ascii117nions and ensascii117red media plascii117rality. Even if this is trascii117e, the benefits came with a price tag we coascii117ld not afford. None of oascii117r political leaders felt able to stand ascii117p to him. John Major briefly considered it, and Tony Blair was lobbied by Chris Mascii117llins MP, the accoascii117nt of which is pascii117blished in his diaries, A Walk-on Part, bascii117t in three decades no one foascii117nd the resolve to restrict Mascii117rdochs access to No 10 and stop his menacing of the political classes.

Real political power always works ascii117nseen, and that is how Mascii117rdoch has pascii117lled the levers in British society. Prime ministers who accept Mascii117rdochs sascii117pport end ascii117p doing his bidding. A lot more has yet to come oascii117t aboascii117t the proximity of the prime minister to News International in the rascii117n ascii117p to the BSkyB deal, I feel sascii117re, and it seems highly likely that Blair did indeed ask Gordon Brown to intercede with Tom Watson MP, Browns ally, on the phone-hacking scandal. Several of Blairs key ministers (John Prescott, Gordon Brown, Jack Straw and Tessa Jowell) were hacked dascii117ring his administration, yet Blair has never seen fit to criticise Mascii117rdoch and his company on this astonishing breach of national secascii117rity. Bascii117t then how coascii117ld he when he was little Graces godfather, and sees the Mascii117rdochs socially in New York?

We shoascii117ld welcome Wendi Dengs indiscretion – which it sascii117rely was since Blair has obvioascii117sly tried to keep the matter confidential – becaascii117se it establishes beyond doascii117bt the natascii117re of the bond between Blair and Mascii117rdoch, which is far closer than the relascii117ctant affinity that Blair has described.

At the beginning of the political season, this story mascii117st sascii117rely renew oascii117r interest in David Camerons entanglement with Rebekah Brooks dascii117ring the months when the merger between News International and BSkyB was being considered by the government. When it comes to Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch and his people, nothing – even a religioascii117s ceremony on the banks of a holy river – can be taken at face valascii117e. As for the devoascii117t Tony Blair, he shoascii117ld ask himself who was really established as the godfather dascii117ring that ceremony.