Can these facts regarding Tony Blair be independently verified?

[Blackhatjack]

*British Prime Minister Tony Blair is now a criminal suspect in a scandal resulting from the sale of peerages and royal honors by the Labor Party in return for campaign donations and other favors.

*Blair has already been questioned twice by police in the matter.

*Two Labor leaders, Sir Christopher Evans and Lord Levy, have already been arrested and questioned by police in the scandal.

*If Blair is questioned "under caution," he is expected to resign as Prime Minister.

**************************************

If these allegations are verified as being true, then it appears that Blair has his own 'Watergate' pushing him quickly toward the door.

Why is this important? With his lack of public support in Britain, rejection by his own party, and a real criminal investigation leading to his doorstep, Blair continues to try and hang on as Prime Minister. How would such a person handle a real crisis like regional war breaking out in the Middle East? And what would the British response be to appeals for military support from George W. Bush?

Bush NeoCons and our troops may be totally alone in Iraq already, with little hope for British support from this point forward (and especially after Bush Buddy Blair is forced from office).

[babylonsister]

1. It's a fact, ...jack! Here's a link, I hope:

Just google Tony Blair + scandal probe. It's also been posted on DU awhile back...

http://news.google.com/news?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wn&q=Tony+Blair+%2B+scandal+probe&btnG=Search

[KoKo]

2. Wasn't Blair supposed to step down in May? That's what I read

was agreed on last year. That means he only has another month in office, anyway. :shrug:

[Blackhatjack]

3. I read Blair promised to step down in July 07.... but I do not have a link

His party supposedly wanted to get Brown in as Prime Minister in sufficient time to put space between Blair and the Party Nominee facing the next election.

[cooolandrew]

4. I live in the UK he's meant to be leaving in May whatever the case is, but after the Iran thing...

... who knows.

[Blackhatjack]

5. Since you live in the UK, could you fill us in what the people think of Blair and this scandal?

We don't often get a real sense of what the people in Britain think.

Is the scandal referenced in the OP as big as 'Watergate' was here? Did it play a role in Blair deciding to step down?

And what is likely to happen once Brown takes Blair's place?

THanks!

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. From another UK Duer:

(and answering your OP too):

No, I don't think there is anything saying Blair is a 'criminal suspect'. He has been interviewed twice, but not under caution (but the Tory Sunday Telegraph claimed the police wanted to caution him the second time, but backed off when he said he would resign if they did that; whether the Telegraph's story is true can't be told).

Lord Levy is a close personal friend of Blair, and the chief fundraiser among rich people for the Labour party; he was indeed arrested before being questioned but hasn't been charged yet. Sir Christopher Evans is a Labour party donor who was arrested, but can't really be called a 'Labor leader' - he was one of the people thought to be offered a peerage if he donated money.

No, the scandal isn't as big as Watergate (certainly not as big as Watergate became, anyway); it has been the main story on a few days when something like another questioning has happened. No, it didn't play any part in Blair's decision to step down - that was made around September last year, and was basically due to internal Labour party pressure because Blair was unpopular with most voters, and promising to resign within a year headed off a threat to have an internal election challenging him.

The scandal isn't huge, partly because it's long been suspected that all governments have done this on the quiet; it's just that Labour wasn't so subtle about it, and the days of email mean a trail has been left by messages that earlier might have been just by word-of-mouth.

[LeftishBrit]

10. A few comments from another UK-er

(1) No, the scandal is not of Watergate proportions. Blair was under pressure to step down before it happened.

(2) A lot of people here are generally very fed-up and disillusioned with Blair, because of the war in Iraq, and because of his excessive managerialism, imposition of constant 'targets', mismanagement of education and the NHS, and incompetence in a number of crucial matters. That's on the left and in the centre. There are also of course a fair number of right-wingers who feel that Blair hasn't been doing enough hanging-'em-all, flogging-'em-all, sending-'em-all-back-where-they-came-from, and other favoured activities of the British Right.

(3) It's hard to say how much things will change when Brown takes over. My own guess is that he'll be much better on foreign policy, but not much better on domestic policy.

[Rydz777]

7. Impressions

I've lived in both England and Scotland and keep up (casually) with the political situation. My impression is that Blair is very unpopular, but mainly because he is blamed for the war and being Bush's "poodle." The corruption scandal has just added to his troubles. Brown, his presumed successor, is a dour Scot, respected for his ability but not for his personality. They are on the verge of new local elections which should show which way the wind is blowing.

[Blackhatjack]

8. Thanks for providing us with 'the facts' and opinions from the UK point of view...

As a followup, has the war in Iraq been as financially disasterous for Britain as it has been for the US?

I read where the Parlimentary Members asked real questions of Blair regarding the war in Iraq. Does Blair have many personal supporters in Parliment, or is all the support for the Labor Party and not for Blair?

[LeftishBrit]

11. Blair does have personal supporters, and tends to surround himself with them...

But the Labour Party are very diverse (if you think that the Democrats are 'not an organized political party', try the British Labourites!) As well as some ardent Blairites, they include fervent Brownies, some genuine left-wingers who have been very much marginalized by Blair, and a fair number who don't really care who is leader so long as they can keep their own seats. There have been several parliamentary party rebellions against Blair on important issues; but he tends to win, because he has a fairly large majority in parliament (disproportionate to his actual percentage of the vote), and because the Conservatives sometimes back him up on his more right-wing issues.

The war in Iraq has not been as financially disastrous here as in the USA - our involvement has not been on the same scale - but it has taken up a lot of taxpayers' money that could have gone on more constructive pursuits.

[LeftishBrit]

9. There is this scandal; but Blair is not, at least so far, a criminal suspect

Some of his associates have been questioned; and this is certainly making the government look a bit sleazy. But it's not of Watergate standard.

I should also clarify that Lord Levy and Sir Christopher Evans are not 'Labour leaders' in the sense of being politicians or policy-makers. They are businessmen who support Blair and the Labour party, and have been involved in funding it. Levy is perhaps the top fund-raiser for the Labour Party.

Blair has in any case more-or-less committed himself to stepping down this year in favour of the heir-apparent Gordon Brown.