The reception he received in Ireland was not quite what he had expected, his security team (which we are still paying for) kept him in the car until they had put up their missile blocking special shields - umbrellas - and then he suddenly appeared surrounded spectacularly by about 8 or nine of his protection team.
Given he was doing a public book signing and there did appear to be a lengthy queue, one can only assume that they were either invited from a special list or screened in advance and then searched on the day.
Again, I am assuming that we the taxpayer are funding all of this additional security on top of what we are paying for as the basic protection for Blair as the former warmongering Prime Minister?
As I blogged last December - Protecting Tony Blair - who should pay the £115,000 each week? - I still believe now as I did then that Tony Blair should contribute towards the security costs when the event or trip he is on is personal, such as a book signing!
He is a top terrorist target because he took us into an illegal war in Iraq, a war that he believed we should have taken part in, whatever the reason, so therefore he must pay his share of the personal events, if he is on Government business then we pick up the tab for him as every former Prime Minister.
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2 comments:
I'd agree with you Andrew that where Blair is making money from a commercial visit (e.g. a book signing), asking him to contribute towards the security costs is reasonable. But I wouldn't go as far as applying that to all "personal" visits.
A family holiday, for example, would be a personal and non-commercial trip and I think it's right that the state protects ex-politicians so that they can, to a degree, return to normal lives and so that terrorists are thwarted.
This is all good publicity for his book, and Tony was always good at this kind of thing. He must've known this was going to play out this way.
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