How Cherie lobbied Foreign Office over Maldives’ ousted leader
CHERIE BLAIR’s law firm held three meetings with senior officials in less than two months as she lobbied Britain on behalf of the Maldives government, it can be disclosed. Documents obtained by The Daily
Telegraph show how Mrs Blair met the British High Commissioner to the country on a visit from London, while another partner in her firm held talks with a senior Foreign Office official in the UK.
Mrs Blair is acting on behalf of the Maldives’ autocratic government, which prosecuted Mohamed Nasheed, the country’s former president, on terrorism charges. David Cameron and of- ficials have called for his release, after Amal Clooney, the human-rights lawyer, took up his defence in the Maldives. Last month, Mrs Clooney met James Dauris, the British High Commissioner to the Maldives, to press Mr Nasheed’s case.
As a result, Britain was accused by the Maldives government of a “flagrant display of prejudice”.
However, documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show how Mrs Blair’s firm, Omnia Strategy, had already held three meetings with British officials, including two with Mr Dauris, on behalf of its clients.
Omnia wrote to the Foreign Office twice, in June and July, both times stating that the letters were written “on behalf of Mrs Cherie Blair CBE, QC”, its chairman.
In the first letter, an unnamed member of Mrs Blair’s staff requested a meeting between Mrs Blair and Hugo Swire, the Foreign Office minister.
The writer said Omnia was advising the Maldives government on “legislative reform” and the promotion of hu- man rights “as part of the Government’s strategy of democracy consolidation”.
“We understand that the UK has expressed concerns regarding recent events in the country, particularly regarding former president Nasheed. Mrs Blair would very much welcome an opportunity to meet with state minister Hugo Swire at his earliest convenience to discuss these events, in light of his call the other day with foreign minister Dunya Maumoon.”
It added: “Given the historic ties and mutual bond through the Commonwealth, we are hoping for an open dialogue and constructive co-operation between the UK and the Maldives.”
It finished by asking “when state minister Swire would be available to meet with Mrs Blair”. However, Mr Swire declined to provide any dates or meet the wife of the former prime minister at all, prompting the ire of the Maldives government, which noted that he had earlier held talks with Mrs Clooney and Mr Nasheed’s wife, Laila Ali, in London.
“Through minister Swire, it is the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office that is taking a biased position on a domestic legal case in Maldives,” a government statement said last month. An Omnia spokesman directed The
Daily Telegraph to the statement after saying the firm would not comment on “confidential client matters”. It was issued after Mr Swire separately declined to allow Mrs Blair to sit in on a meeting with his counterpart from the Maldives. Diplomatic sources said her presence would have been inappropriate.
However, the statement failed to mention that Mrs Blair had earlier met Mr Dauris at the British High Commission in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Aug 25.
Weeks before that, on July 31, Mr Dauris had also met Toby Cadman, a partner at Omnia, in Colombo. The documents show that Mr Cadman also met Giles Thomson, the head of the Foreign Office’s South Asia department, at a meeting in London.
Mr Nasheed is accused of ordering the arrest and detention of a judge during his time as president. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has called for his release.