X-Nico

54 unusual facts about Tony Blair


11 King's Bench Walk Chambers

The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair was a junior tenant on its foundation in 1981 and appointed its founder, Derry Irvine, Lord Chancellor when Labour came to power in 1997.

ABS Hovercraft

In 1998 Tony Blair announced on TV the Millennium Product award of the UK Design Council for the ABS M10 Hovercraft.

Angelo Sodano

On 27 December 1998, he wrote, at the request of the democratic government of Chile, an official letter to the British prime minister Tony Blair stating that "the Chilean Government considers it an offence to its territorial sovereignty as a nation the fact of being deprived of the power to judge its own citizens" through the detention of Pinochet in Britain.

Ben O'Donoghue

O'Donoghue has also worked with Oliver as a consultant food stylist as well as assisting him with various outside catering functions, including cooking for Tony Blair and the Italian Prime Minister.

Bill Gammell

Bill Gammell was born in Edinburgh, and was the son of an investment banker, who was invited at an early age to join Edinbugh's Ivory & Sime (which was started in the late 1800s with the formation of the British Assets Trust.) Gammell attended Edinburgh's exclusive Fettes College where he was friends and debating partners with future British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Black Boots on Latin Feet

Much is made of the fact that Tony Blair picked track 4, Cancel Today, as one of his Desert Island Discs when he appeared on that show in 1996, as at the time few people had heard of the band.

BLT

The article went on to explain that the then Leader of the Opposition William Hague had accused the then Prime Minister Tony Blair of being a hypocrite with regards to food, telling one portion of society that his favourite meal was fish and chips and another that it was a fresh fettuccine dish.

Booth family

Cherie Blair, daughter of Tony Booth and the wife of Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Butskellism

A similar term Blatcherism was coined to describe the supposed convergence of policies of the administrations of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair.

Campbell Live

Campbell Live has interviewed various notable personalities, including Al Gore, Robert Fisk, Tony Blair, as well as an array of celebrities, including Adam Lambert and Metallica.

Courtney Coventry

She was flown to UK by the Metropolitan Police at British taxpayers' expense on the day before Tony Blair was to resign from office, 26 June 2007 where she was met at London's Heathrow Airport by plainclothes police escorts.

Covert listening device

In 2003, Alastair Campbell (who was Director of Communications and Strategy from 1997-2003 for the UK PM) in his memoirs The Blair Years: The Alastair Campbell Diaries alleged that two bugs were discovered in the hotel room meant for visiting British PM Tony Blair planted by Indian intelligence agencies.

Critical friend

When Kilfoyle found himself increasingly distanced from the policy agenda of Prime Minister Tony Blair and he chose to resign from Government, Hansard quotes him as saying that he wished to return to the back benches but remain a "critical friend" of the Government.

David Lawley Wakelin

His work includes "The Alternative Iraq Enquiry", a documentary alleging that Tony Blair is a war criminal.

Dawn Fratangelo

She reported from New York City and Europe, including in-depth reports from London on Prime Minister Tony Blair's critical decision to support the U.S. on Iraq.

Dennis Tirpak

He was the Chairman of The International Scientific Steering Committee for Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change Symposium on Stabilisation of Greenhouse Gas Concentrations which took place at the invitation of the British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2005.

Eddington Transport Report, Victoria

In May 2006 the Victorian Government announced that as part of its "Meeting Our Transport Challenges" action plan, it had appointed Eddington–then reviewing Britain's transport system for the Blair Government–to head an independent investigation into the best transport solutions for connecting Melbourne's eastern and western suburbs.

Flour bomb

An example from May 2004 was the use of purple-dyed flour in condoms thrown at Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair in the chamber of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom by Fathers 4 Justice.

Four-hour target in emergency departments

Tony Blair felt the targets had been successful in achieving their aim.

Freedom of Information Act 2000

By contrast, former prime minister Tony Blair responsible for passing the Act as "One of the biggest mistakes of his career".

From the Mars Hotel

This inspired the name of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's band, Ugly Rumours.

Hilary Armstrong

Armstrong was seen as a politician on the centre-right of the Labour Party, and was close politically to her near neighbour Tony Blair and the New Labour agenda.

Hinduja Group

On 26 January 2001, Prime Minister Tony Blair was accused of prejudicing the independent inquiry into the Hinduja passport affair, after he declared that Keith Vaz not done "anything wrong".

Iain Torrance

Torrance made representation to the British Prime Minister Tony Blair on behalf of Megrahi pointing out the deep unease in Scotland and elsewhere over the safety of the verdict.

In the Crossfire

This is the first political song of the band which denounced the alliance of Prime Minister Tony Blair with president George W. Bush (I don't see myself when I look at the flag) during the war on Iraq.

Is It Fair?

In October 2004, the petition was handed in to the then Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street.

Jean-Marie Bockel

On the right wing of the Socialist Party, he declared himself to be an admirer and strong supporter of the policies of Tony Blair.

Jim Dickson

Politically he is identified with the right wing of the Labour Party and was leading Lambeth's Labour Group when it was described as "more New Labour than New Labour" by then Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

Ludmila's Broken English

The twins are named Blair Albert Heath and Gordon-Marie "Bunny" Heath - something many commentators have taken as a reference to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Mayor of Mega-City One

Tony Blore in "Day of Chaos" is an obvious reference to Tony Blair, while the Illiberal Progressive/Liberal Conservative marriage refers to the then-recent Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalition agreement.

Morpeth School

Special guests who have visited Morpeth School have included Tony Blair the British Prime Minister who visited the school during his first month in office.

National College for School Leadership

Established in 2000 as the National College for School Leadership, its physical centre – a learning and conference centre (LCC) situated in a striking building designed by Sir Michael Hopkins on the Jubilee Campus of the University of Nottingham – was opened on 24 October 2002 by Tony Blair.

Palestinian National Security Forces

According to The Guardian, based on the Palestine Papers, in 2003, British Prime Minister Tony Blair approved a plan of the Secret Intelligence Service MI6 for a US-led "counter-insurgency surge" against Hamas.

Plane Stupid

John Stewart explained their actions saying: "Tony Blair talks the talk about taking action on climate change while building more runways and allowing more planes at airports".

PledgeBank

British Prime Minister Tony Blair started a pledge himself, to become patron of a community sports club if 100 notable figures will do the same, which succeeded.

Pontifical Irish College

Important contemporary visitors to the college include Pope John Paul II, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Irish President Mary McAleese.

Postwar Britain

Privatization was an enduring legacy of Thatcherism; it was accepted by the Labour administration of Tony Blair.

Tony Blair was leader of the Labour Party from 1994, and three times Prime Minister (1997–2007).

Radiofrequency ablation

In 2004, former British prime minister Tony Blair underwent RF catheter ablation for recurrent atrial flutter.

Sheffield iSchool

John McTernan - Director of Political Operations at 10 Downing Street under Tony Blair.

Slovakia Summit 2005

Prior to the summit, Bush had travelled to Brussels and met with several European leaders and councils of the European Union and NATO, including Tony Blair, Silvio Berlusconi, Jacques Chirac, and Javier Solana.

Socialist Students

Socialist Students was established in the late 1990s by members of the Socialist Party (SP) who had built support for the Save Free Education Campaign amongst students in the battle over the introduction of fees when the Labour Party under Tony Blair was elected in 1997.

TeaMp0isoN

The group published in Pastebin what appeared to be the address book and other private data of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in June 2011.

The Curious Incident of the WMD in Iraq

It is a fictional autobiography of then British Prime Minister Tony Blair, parodying the style of Mark Haddon's novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights

2003: Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, T.D., Prime Minister of Ireland and the Right Honourable Tony Blair

Tom Pendry, Baron Pendry

In 2000, prior to his retirement as an MP he was made a member of the Privy council on the recommendation of Tony Blair.

Tonibler

Tonibler is a male given name in Kosovo, given in honour of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair following his role in the 1999 NATO air campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War.

Tottenham by-election, 2000

Both Sharon and Bernie Grant had been on the left-wing of the party whereas the leading black contender for the nomination, David Lammy, was a supporter of Tony Blair.

Trade unions in the United Kingdom

Margaret Thatcher's governments weakened the powers of the unions in the 1980s, in particular by making it more difficult to strike legally, and some within the British trades union movement criticised Tony Blair's Labour government for not reversing some of Thatcher's changes.

Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe

On 20 April 2004 then British prime minister Tony Blair unexpectedly promised a referendum, a proposal which he had previously rejected.

United Kingdom agency worker law

The Directive was the culmination of initial resistance by the Government under Tony Blair, and a final surge of Parliamentary support for a Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Bill.

Zimbabwean parliamentary election, 2005

Zanu-PF is using claimed interference of Tony Blair, the British prime minister, and United States president George W. Bush in Zimbabwean politics, as an election issue.

Zoran Đinđić

His meetings with Western leaders George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac and others strongly indicated that the West supported his politics.

Zubeida Malik

She has interviewed key figures for the BBC, including Kofi Annan, President Musharraf, Tony Blair, Prince Saud Al Faisal, Desmond Tutu, and the spiritual leader of Hamas Sheikh Yassin.


Alex Okosi

Interviewees have included former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Group, and Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

Anselmo Sule

According to La Cuarta, Sule held a friendship with important politicians such as Erich Honecker, Tony Blair, and Fidel Castro, throughout his life.

Bournemouth Highcliff Marriott Hotel

Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair and many well-known trade union leaders, have all been to the Highcliff.

Clive Betts

Betts was made an opposition whip under Tony Blair in 1996, and after the 1997 general election, he entered the government as an Assistant Whip.

Derek Foster, Baron Foster of Bishop Auckland

After Tony Blair became leader in 1994, he was keen to appoint a new Chief Whip and asked Foster to stand aside, in return for the promise of a seat in the Cabinet if and when Labour returned to power.

Des O'Connor

He has worked with many personalities of the day, from rock and pop stars, actors and TV performers, to politicians, princes, to luminaries such as Frank Sinatra, Adam Faith, Sean Connery, Liberace, the Beatles, Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Cilla Black, Tony Blair and members of the Royal Family.

Europa XS

In 1997 UK Prime Minister Tony Blair launched the Millennium Products competition to promote British industry in the 21st Century.

Harry Borden

His subjects have included celebrities ranging from Robin Williams and Ewan McGregor though Jamie Oliver to Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher.

History of Fianna Fáil

The election of Tony Blair in Britain gave renewed hope of an agreement for peace in Northern Ireland, an issue that has traditionally always been an aspiration of Irish Governments.

History of the London School of Economics

Anthony Giddens, the former Director of the LSE, stands as the creator of the "Third Way" followed by both Tony Blair (who unveiled the Fabian Window at LSE in 2005) and Bill Clinton.

Ian Lang, Baron Lang of Monkton

As chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Lang insisted that Tony Blair's paid work for UI Energy Corporation, an oil firm with interests in Iraq, just 14 months after leaving office should be made public following a period when the committee agreed to keep it confidential due to "market sensitivity".

Itchen College

Itchen Sixth Form College was widely publicised during the 2001 General Election after a visit by Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Jaap Marais

Marais also demanded an apology from then UK prime minister Tony Blair for Britain's conduct during the Anglo Boer War of 1899-1902, when it had instituted concentration camps in which 27,000 Boer civilians perished (24,000 children and 3,000 women).

Kimberly Quinn

In 2001, she married Quinn; during this marriage, she had an affair with David Blunkett, Home Secretary in Tony Blair's ministry.

Kopspijkers

At first only Dutch people were impersonated, later also foreign celebrities (including Tony Blair, Nelson Mandela, John Kerry and Viktor Yushchenko) were impersonated.

Linda Colley

In 1999, Colley was one of several speakers invited to deliver a Millennium Lecture at 10 Downing Street by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and his wife Cherie Blair.

Lisa I'Anson

Later on she was also presenting other live TV shows including the very first and subsequent MOBO awards (music of black origin), The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium and a live link from Ghana, West Africa direct to London with then British Prime Minister and U.S. President, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton.

LiveLeak

The site came to prominence in 2007 following the unauthorized filming and leaking of the execution of Saddam Hussein, and was referred to by White House Press Secretary Tony Snow and then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

One more heave

The electoral success of such an approach was never tested as Smith died of a heart attack in 1994 and Tony Blair won the subsequent leadership election.

Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000

In December 2006 Prime Minister Tony Blair and politicians of other parties were questioned by police as part of their investigation into the Cash for Honours affair.

Rover 800 Series

Tony Blair owned an early 800 in the 1980s, and the vice-chancellor of Middlesex University had two — one for personal use and one for official duties.

Sidney Blumenthal

He was present at the two original conferences, both in the U.K. and America in which he became friends with the newly elected Labour leader Tony Blair.

Sir Michael Barber

In the past, Sir Michael served as a partner and head of the global education practice at McKinsey, advisor to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and a global expert on education reform and implementation of large-scale system change.

SpeakOut

In 2006, SpeakOut administrator Chris Johnson was recognised by British Prime Minister Tony Blair for exceptional work in the voluntary sector.

The Amazing Mrs Pritchard

Several politicians and journalists made cameo appearances, including Tony Blair, Gavin Esler, Roy Hattersley, John Humphrys, Nick Robinson, David Steel, Andrew Marr, Simon McCoy, Sarah Montague, Peter Snow and Kirsty Wark.

The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair

Although innocent, he was accused by American military officials of plotting to assassinate then British prime minister Tony Blair along with his two brothers.

Zimbabwean cricket crisis

The matter came to prominence before the 2003 World Cup, when both the British prime minister Tony Blair and the Australian prime minister John Howard said they would prefer it if their teams did not travel to Zimbabwe, but did not ban them from doing so.