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Tony Blair personally lobby Matt Hancock Remove UAE from tourism red list because “he does a lot of business there”, claims former health minister.
Mr Hancock also allowed the former prime minister to avoid isolation after returning from the signing ceremony. white house In the United States.
The pandemic diary shows that Mr Blair has regularly contacted cabinet ministers during 2020, asking for help or discussing policy.
In an exchange in July 2020, Mr Blair protested that the United Arab Emirates remained on a quarantine red list, claiming they were only reporting hundreds of cases a day “because they were doing too much testing”.
Mr Hancock said he had to “resist the urge to reply with the eye-rolling emoji to that old chestnut”. Blair then argued that “the disease is very well contained there” because “nearly all the cases were in migrant worker communities and were asymptomatic”. “Hmm,” Hancock wrote in his diary.
Former health secretary claims Tony Blair personally lobbied Matt Hancock to remove UAE from travel red list because ‘he does a lot of business there’
At the time, travelers from all countries banned from opting for the “low-risk” exemption – including some European resorts during the summer months – were asked to self-isolate at home for two weeks.
But the former health secretary did allow Mr Blair to be exempted from quarantine for 14 days after returning from the US in September 2020 to attend an event at the White House.
The former prime minister had been invited to attend the signing ceremony of the peace treaty between Israel and the UAE, but the foreign ministry refused to grant an exemption.
Mr Blair contacted Mr Hancock directly, saying “he was really going to the ceremony and then flew straight out” and that “if he was a government minister he would be granted diplomatic immunity”.
Pandemic diary reveals Mr Blair regularly contacted cabinet ministers during 2020 to ask for help or discuss policy
Mr Hancock wrote: “I can’t believe the FCDO [Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office] Just toss him like this. He’s not a junior minister: he’s a former prime minister.
“I told him of course he deserved an exemption and I’ll take care of that right away. He sounded relieved and grateful.
When news of Mr Hancock’s intervention hit the media a month later, he wrote: “I make no apologies: Blair may no longer be in government, but he is a former prime minister and is clearly in foreign affairs. Out of For such purposes, even junior ministers are exempt from segregation.
The 14-day self-isolation rule came into force in June 2020 and those who break it will be fined up to £1,000. Until then, Britons “are advised… against any travel other than essential international travel”.
During the summer, travelers from some “low risk” countries, including France and Spain, were granted a summer holiday exemption.
But there was chaos at borders and airports after quarantine measures were reintroduced within a short period of time amid rising cases. A mandatory hotel quarantine regime will be implemented in February 2021.
Mr Blair’s lobbying on the travel red list is just one of many conversations he has recorded with Mr Hancock in his diary, revealing moments that were both collaborative and tense.
The pair avoided “fireworks” on the Andrew Marr show in June 2021 after Mr Hancock accused Mr Blair’s think tank of “hostile” reporting on vaccine passports and the NHS app as “massively inaccurate”.
Mr Blair replied the following Sunday morning, saying it was “a bit of a misunderstanding”.
“As it turned out, he went out of his way to praise the app on Marr,” Mr Hancock said. “He respectfully volunteered to say something in support of me and the team whenever it was helpful.”
But Mr Hancock twice accused the former prime minister of trying to take credit for government decisions. In December 2020, he claimed Mr Blair had “got wind” that he was preparing to announce a longer interval between the first and second doses of the vaccine and was “calling for it before it happens!”
After the announcement on Dec. 30, he wrote: “Who deserves credit, but none more than Tony Blair!” I let it pass. It would be great if he could help us land.
Meanwhile, Mr Hancock contacted Mr Blair to rebut his “crazy” suggestion that vaccine efforts should focus on students because they are most likely to spread the disease.
He wrote: “Take a deep breath, I keep calm and message him to suggest that we talk. “Interesting article about vaccines,” I joked (I wanted him to sideline).
’ And then, with some flattery, ‘I think some of what you said was very wise. Then, “but other parts are not quite right – would a briefing help”.
Mr Blair responded by accepting the offer before dawn, saying: “If there’s anything you don’t think should be said, it’s more than happy to take it.”
In January 2021, Mr Hancock reported that Mr Blair had been involved behind the scenes in an effort to get extra vaccine doses for the UK. He wrote: “Mr Blair is again trying to help and has been privately trying to get more vaccine from Johnson & Johnson…worth a shot.”
Mr Blair’s work for the UAE through his private consulting firm, Tony Blair Associates, has enabled him to earn millions from a string of controversial clients including the UAE, oil companies and Kazakhstan’s authoritarian government.
He was accused of a conflict of interest in 2017, an allegation he denied at the time, when it emerged that he had received huge payments from the UAE while serving as the UN’s special envoy to the Middle East.
Before he closed the firm, its website said it allowed Blair to provide “strategic advice” on “political and economic trends and government reform”.
Mr Blair was contacted for comment.
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