by Tom Bower
reaction to suggestion of withdrawal from Iraq, 1;
and Afghanistan mission, 1, 2;
replaced by Stirrup, 1;
complains to TB about Bremer, 1
Walker, Tim: and immigration policy, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Wall, General Peter, 1
Wall, Stephen, 1, 2, 3
Wanless, Derek, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Ward, David, 1
Warner, Norman, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Warren, Rick, 1
Wataniya, 1
Watson, Tom, 1
Watt, Peter, 1
weapons of mass destruction (WMDs): and TB’s first bombing raids on Iraq, 1, 2, 3;
TB still obsessed with, 1;
assume new importance in TB’s mind in wake of 9/11, 1;
as focus of ‘war on terror’, 1, 2;
as justification for Iraq war, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6;
the first JIC dossier, 1, 2, 3;
Saddam’s spokesman says destroyed, 1;
UN passes resolution 1441, 1;
as TB’s excuse, 1, 2;
UN inspectors fail to find, 1, 2;
doubts about existence grow, 1, 2, 3;
war does not uncover them, 1, 2;
still not found, 1, 2;
Gilligan–Kelly affair, 1;
Hutton inquiry and report, 1, 2;
Kay announces their definitive non-existence, 1;
TB continues in denial about, 1;
Gaddafi surrenders his, 1;
Butler inquiry and report, 1, 2, 3, 4;
US Senate Intelligence Committee report, 1, 2;
Chilcot inquiry, 1, 2
Webster, Philip, 1, 2
Webster, Rob, 1, 2
Wegg-Prosser, Ben, 1, 2
Weinberg, Mel, 1
welfare: Brown’s increasing expenditure, 1, 2, 3; dependency growing, 1, 2, 3;
and immigrants, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11;
ministerial changes, 1, 2;
New Deal, 1, 2, 3;
New Labour policy, 1, 2, 3, 4;
pensions, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6;
tax credits, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6;
winter fuel payments, 1
Welland, Colin, 1
West, Admiral Alan, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
West Bank, 1, 2
Whelan, Charlie, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Wicks, Malcolm, 1, 2
William, Prince, Duke of Cambridge, 1
Williams, Michael, 1
Williams, Rowan, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1
Wills, Michael, 1
Wilmshurst, Elizabeth, 1
Wilson, Brian, 1, 2
Wilson, Harold, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Wilson, Richard: at Home Office, 1, 2; selected as Cabinet secretary, 1;
TB ignores advice, 1;
and welfare policy, 1;
more problems with TB, 1;
tries to negotiate Robinson’s resignation, 1;
on TB and health policy, 1, 2;
on Mandelson’s loan from Robinson, 1;
‘Modernising Government’ White Paper, 1;
and TB’s first reshuffle, 1;
on TB’s personal agenda, 1;
and forces of conservatism speech, 1;
avoids involvement in fuel-delivery lorry drivers’ protest, 1;
relationship with TB worsens, 1;
and Hinduja affair, 1;
and Iraq war, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11;
and TB–Brown relationship, 1;
on TB’s slipping self-confidence, 1;
and energy policy, 1;
retires, 1, 2;
on TB’s character, 1
Winston, Professor Robert, 1
WMDs see weapons of mass destruction
Wolfowitz, Paul, 1, 2, 3
Women’s Institute speech, 1
Woodhead, Chris, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
WorldCom, 1
Xstrata, 1
Yahaya, Lai, 1
Yates, John, 1
Yelland, David, 1
Yeltsin, Boris, 1, 2
Young, Robin, 1
Zayed al-Nahyan, Sheikh Mohammed bin, 1, 2
Zimbabwe, 1, 2
Zurich Insurance, 1, 2
The winning team in 1997: (seated from left) Peter Mandelson, Alastair Campbell, Blair and Gordon Brown.
The Blairs move into Downing Street, 2 May 1997.
Blair’s first Cabinet.
Blair and his mentor and friend, Bill Clinton, with Cherie Blair and Hillary Clinton during a visit to Washington, February 1998.
Blair meeting soldiers in Macedonia, May 1999, during the Kosovo war: his trust in General Sir Charles Guthrie (left), his first chief of the defence staff, and General Sir Mike Jackson encouraged his belief in military solutions to political problems.
Celebrating the millennium at the Dome on New Year’s Eve 1999 was an embarrassment.
Three disappointed Cabinet secretaries: Robin Butler (served until 1998), Richard Wilson (1998–2002) and Andrew Turnbull (2002–05).
Camp David, 2001: George Bush unexpectedly became Blair’s soulmate and trusted ally.
Blair was unusually dependent upon three advisers: chief of staff Jonathan Powell, director of communications Alastair Campbell and director of government relations Sally Morgan.
The relationships of three chiefs of the defence staff – Admiral Mike Boyce, General Mike Walker and Air Marshal Jock Stirrup – with Blair provoked disappointment and criticism.
Contrived smiles during the 2005 election campaign concealed a turbulent alliance between Blair and Brown. Only weeks later, Blair was humiliated at the Sedgefield election count by Reg Keys, an independent candidate, who questioned the legality of the war in Iraq after his son was killed there.
While he was prime minister, Blair campaigned against dictators but later served their interests: (top) with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi; (centre left) with Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda; (centre right) with Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president of Kazakhstan; and (bottom) with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
27 June 2007: the Blairs leave Downing Street after ten years.
Among Blair’s new close allies was Rupert Murdoch, but their friendship collapsed when Murdoch suspected Blair of having an affair with his wife, Wendi Deng.
Blair has denied mixing his philanthropic ventures with business in Africa, and yet, in November 2010, after meeting President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria – accompanied by Jamie Dimon, J. P. Morgan’s chief executive (who paid Blair a retainer) – Blair tried hard to develop his business interests in Nigeria.
Blair’s eulogy at Ariel Sharon’s funeral in Jerusalem, in January 2014, combined with his alleged affair with Wendi Deng, finally undermined his hope of retaining his lucrative role as Middle East peace envoy.
About the Author
* * *
Tom Bower is an investigative historian, broadcaster and journalist. A former producer and reporter for BBC Television, he is the author of many books, including biographies of Robert Maxwell, Mohamed Fayed, Gordon Brown, Richard Branson and Conrad Black. Broken Dreams, his investigation into corruption in English football, won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award in 2003 and his recent bestsellers include No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone and Sweet Revenge: the Intimate Life of Simon Cowell. He lives in London.
By the Same Author
* * *
BLIND EYE TO MURDER
KLAUS BARBIE
THE PAPERCLIP CONSPIRACY
RED WEB
MAXWELL: THE OUTSIDER
TINY ROWLAND
THE PERFECT ENGLISH SPY
HEROES OF WORLD WAR II
MAXWELL: THE FINAL VERDICT
NAZI GOLD
BLOOD MONEY
FAYED
BRANSON
THE PAYMASTER
BROKEN DREAMS: VANITY, GREED AND THE SOURING OF BRITISH FOOTBALL
CONRAD AND LADY BLACK: DANCING ON THE EDGE
THE SQUEEZE
SWEET REVENGE: THE INTIMATE LIFE OF SIMON COWELL
BRANSON: BEHIND THE MASK
Copyright
* * *
First published in the UK in 2016
by Faber & Faber Ltd
Bloomsbury House
74–77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA
This ebook edition first published in 2016
All rights reserved
© Tom Bower, 2016
The right of Tom Bower to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly
ISBN 978–0–571–31423–2
