Tony Blair 'relished' sending British soldiers off to war

[Henk Elegeert]

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/18/nblur18.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/09/18/ixportaltop.html

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Tony Blair 'relished' sending British soldiers off to war

By Melissa Kite, Deputy Political Editor
(Filed: 18/09/2005)
Tony Blair "relished" sending troops to war, according to claims by a
former Downing Street aide which the Government tried to suppress.
The Prime Minister also railed at "the f***ing Welsh" and made policies
minutes before going on television, Lance Price says in his book The
Spin Doctor's Diary.
Mr Price, a former deputy head of Downing Street communications, claims
that Mr Blair promised Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul, that the
Government would not change its policy on Europe without telling him first.
The Government forced Mr Price to remove sections of the diary before
publication. Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell accused the former BBC
journalist of "betrayal".
But the full version is revealed in the Mail on Sunday, which publishes
extracts today. Perhaps the most damning is an entry from Christmas 1998
after Mr Blair sent British forces into Iraq.
Mr Price wrote: "I couldn't help feeling TB was relishing his first
blooding as PM, sending the boys into action. Despite all the necessary
stuff about taking action 'with a heavy heart', I think he feels it is
part of his coming of age as a leader."
The censored account reads: "I couldn't help feeling TB had mixed
emotions about sending the boys into action."
In another censored section, Mr Price claims that the Government
consulted Mr Murdoch on its policy on the single currency. "Apparently
we've promised News International we won't make any changes to our
Europe policy without talking to them." This was changed to: "Apparently
News International were under the impression we won't make any changes
without asking them."
Officials also tried to suppress a claim that Mr Blair repeatedly
insulted the Welsh. The Prime Minister is said to have erupted in fury
when it appeared that Labour could lose the first elections to the Welsh
Assembly in 1999. Mr Price wrote: "F***ing Welsh repeated many times by TB."
The doctored version reads: "TB f-ing and blinding about the whole thing."

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