I’m not as wealthy as you think, insists Blair

TONY Blair yesterday claimed he was not as wealthy as widely thought, saying he had given away more money than he now has.

The former prime minister said he was worth ‘a lot less’ than the £30million estimated by some and had put £10million into his campaigning group.

‘I’ve actually spent the vast bulk of my time since leaving office on pro-bono charitable work in Africa and elsewhere and all I can say about my so- called wealth is the reports of it are greatly exaggerated,’ he told the Observer.

Asked by the newspaper whether he was worth £50million or £30million, he replied: ‘I’m certainly worth neither of those things. A lot less.

‘I’ve got a very nice house in London, nice house in the country, each with significant mortgages. The equity in those is the bulk of my wealth. I have given away more than I’m worth.’

Mr Blair said he had put £10million into his institute to pursue his causes and to support younger politicians.

The ex-PM also claimed he was tough on immigration – even though he rejected curbs on Eastern Europeans coming to Britain after 2004. Mr Blair denied this decision had led to the Brexit vote, saying: ‘Some of the first legislative battles I had were on reforms to immigration.

‘I advocated identity cards precisely because I understood people wanted rules around immigration and I knew that without rules there would be prejudices. So I completely get people’s concerns on immigration.’

In the interview to mark the 20th anniversary of Labour’s 1997 landslide victory, he claimed Labour can return to government and leave the Tories ‘flat on their backs’ at future general elections, as long as it decides to reoccupy the centre ground of British politics.