Tony Blair to take to the witness stand at Leveson
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair is to take to the witness stand at the Leveson inquiry into media standards later today, where he will field questions concerning his friendship with Rupert Murdoch.
It is alleged that links between the pair could have amounted to a ‘pact’, something that leveson will be keen to clarify.
Blair courted the Murdoch press during his term as Labour leader, famously persuading the Sun to switch allegiance from the Conservatives in 1997.
Former Minister Lord Mandelson had previously told the inquiry that he felt their relationship was “arguably… closer than wise” – albeit dismissing suggestions that this amounted to a “Faustian pact”.
Blair’s former press secretary Alistair Campbell stood up for his former boss during his stint on the stands last April, saying: "I never was witness to, and I do not believe there was ever a discussion that said, 'now, Tony, if you do this and do this my papers will back you' - it just never happened."