It’s not great timing for the man who was once credited with being a master of spin. After a week of speculation around Tony Blair’s decision to donate the proceeds of his memoir, A Journey, to the Royal British Legion comes news that the former premier has set up a Mayfair investment advisory firm.
The company, Firerush, was apparently set up to manage the finances of his consultancy firm, Tony Blair Associates (TBA), but, as the Bloomberg report points out, Blair has hired former investment bankers — including an ex-Lehman Brothers employee — and has registered the firm with the Financial Services Authority (FSA). A spokesperson has denied, however, that the outfit will operate as an investment bank.
Whether it’s a bank or not, it’s a sign of the continuing expansion of the Blair empire (he is now said to be worth about £20m — oddly, the Labour Party is apparently in debt by the same amount, according to John Prescott). How far the former Sedgefield MP has travelled from such petty, parochial issues. He is now able to swan between seven homes, various high-paid positions and lucrative public speaking fees.
Blair still has a few defenders, but surely their cause can’t be helped by this latest twist in the tale of endless wealth accumulation. But why is it so ugly to behold? It is cynical (though understandable) to question the motivation for his charitable donation — a consequence of his wealth. And there are no rules to say a former premier cannot go on to financial success after leaving office.
But, in Blair’s case, there’s that sense — just as there was when he was in office — of a gulf between the external presentation and the inner reality. He gives a highly publicised donation and, on the quiet, registers an investment vehicle in Mayfair. He makes occasional but well-documented appearances in the Middle East and, again, almost silently, receives cash from a South Korean oil firm.
It’s the sense of duplicity that stinks.
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