How Cherie pestered Hillary for over a year on behalf of Qataris
THE extent to which Cherie Blair lobbied Hillary Clinton on behalf of her friends in the Qatari royal family was laid bare last night.
Tony Blair’s wife badgered the former US Secretary of State for more than a year to do her a favour, bypassing normal diplomatic channels.
Emails show that Mrs Blair persuaded Mrs Clinton to meet Sheikha Mozah, wife of the former Qatari emir, as well as speak to her son to boost his profile on the world stage.
In her most brazen email – one of thousands of messages released from Mrs Clinton’s time in office – Mrs Blair could barely contain her joy on confirming the meeting.
She gushed in capital letters: ‘I AM SO GLAD. If you get a chance remind Sheikha Mozah of me as I am wanting her to support my woman’s foundation so every little reminder helps!’
The messages show how Mrs Blair used her access to the Clintons to get things done for the Qatari royal family, with whom her husband, the ex-prime minister, has a long-standing and lucrative relationship.
Previously released emails showed that in May 2009, Mrs Blair wanted to set up a ‘woman to woman’ meeting between Mrs Clinton and Sheikha Mozah, whom she referred to mysteriously as ‘my friend from Q’.
The latest releases show that Mrs Blair appeared to have got what she wanted and more.
One email from Mrs Blair dated June 7, 2010, read: ‘As you know I have good links to the Qataris. Sheikha Mozah’s son is the 31/32 year old Crown Prince and she is keen that he starts to build a wider international profile.’ Mrs Blair said the prince – Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, who now rules Qatar – was working on food security in his country, adding: ‘He would love to meet you in person to discuss this and to explore potential partnership issues between US and Qatar.’
Breezily, she signed off: ‘IS a meeting possible? He is more flexible on place and times than his mother! Or maybe we could set up an initial phone call. Can you let me know if this appeals to you at all?’ Mrs Clinton later responded that a phone call was being arranged.
The emails were among 7,000 of Mrs Clinton’s messages released after a Freedom of Information request. They were all stored on a private server rather than Mrs Clinton’s official email account, sparking security fears.
Mrs Clinton may have broken US secrecy rules by handling classified information from Mr Blair and Downing Street on her personal account – including briefings on the Middle East.
Her team has argued the information was not marked classified at the time it was sent, but the FBI is now investigating the security of the server.
Mrs Blair previously described suggestions she was too close to the Qataris as ‘sensationalist and inaccurate’, adding that she met Sheikha Mozah through her work with disability charity Scope.
The Blairs’ spokesman was unavailable for comment last night.