Murdoch called Blair thrice before Iraq war

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair had three conversations with the media magnate Rupert Murdoch in the nine days before the start of the second Iraq war.

London, July 19 : Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair had three conversations with the media magnate Rupert Murdoch in the nine days before the start of the second Iraq war.

According to the British Cabinet Office, both Blair and Murdoch had six telephone discussions in 20 months leading upto the war, all at crucial moments of his premiership. The subject of their calls, however, was not revealed.

According to The Independent, in 2003, Blair phoned Murdoch on March 11, 13 and 19, the day before Britain and the United States invaded Iraq.

The war was strongly supported by Murdoch-owned newspapers around the world. The day after two of the calls, The Sun launched vitriolic attacks on French President Jacques Chirac. The Government quoted him as saying he would "never" support military action against Saddam Hussein, a claim hotly disputed by France.

Blair and Murdoch spoke again on January 29,2004, the day after publication of the Hutton report into the death of Dr David Kelly. Their next conversation was on April 25, 2004, just after Blair bowed to pressure led by The Sun for him to promise a referendum on the proposed EU Constitution. They also spoke on October 3, 2004, after Blair said he would not fight a fourth general election.

The Cabinet Office also said Blair had three meetings with Richard Desmond, the proprietor of Express Newspapers, between January 2003 and February 2004.

The Government had said releasing the information would be prejudicial to the effective conduct of public affairs, and disclosure of the timing of exchanges with "stakeholders" could reveal the content of the discussion.

ANI