Blair not making apologies for courting Murdoch

shouted ‘this man should be arrested for war crimes’ while Blair was speaking, before being hustled out.
The reference was to Blair’s decision to take Britain to war in Iraq and Afghanistan during his time in office from 1997 and 2007.
Judge Brian Leveson, who is heading the inquiry, apologised to Blair and immediately ordered an investigation into how the man had gained access to a ‘secure corridor’ in the courtroom.
In his evidence, Blair, who is godfather to one of Rupert Murdoch’s children, was asked about his close relationship with the media baron, whose tabloid The Sun, Britain’s top-selling newspaper, gave him its backing.
Blair said he had made a strategic decision not to take on the power of the press during his time in office.
He said he had taken care to court the press because if media groups had turned against him, it would have been a “huge and sustained attack”.
Blair, now a Middle East peace envoy, said he feared the battle would be so immense that it would prevent his Labour government from getting anything else done.
The former prime minister said it was inevitable that top politicians and senior media executives would have a close interaction, but it was important to stop the relationship from becoming unhealthy.
He said the biggest problem in the British press was the blurred lines between news and comment in some papers, where reporting stops becoming straightforward journalism and instead becomes an ‘instrument of political power’.
Blair identified The Sun and the right-wing Daily Mail, owned by Associated Newspapers, as Britain’s most powerful papers.
“The Sun particularly because it is prepared to shift (position), it makes it all the more important,” he explained.
“Once they are against you, that’s it. It’s full frontal, day in, day out; basically a lifetime commitment,” he said.
“The fact is if you fall out with the controlling element of the Daily Mail you are then going to be subject to a huge and sustained attack,” he added, telling the inquiry that his family and those close to him had been subjected to such treatment.
“There is a substantial power there. In my view, not simply in the Murdoch media. The power is significant.”
Blair said he thought it was “absolutely” important to “try and get The Sun on board” as he tried to oust the Conservatives from office after 18 years at the 1997 election. — AFP.