Blair ‘warned’ by staff over declaration of family freebies

SIR TONY BLAIR was warned by his No10 chief of staff to be careful about accepting “freebies” for his family after being told by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to declare tickets to the Millennium Dome celebrations.

The former prime minister was told more than once by Elizabeth Filkin that under parliamentary rules he had to declare tickets as hospitality gifts in the register of members’ interests.

She said Cherie Blair’s ticket to the New Year’s Eve celebrations held at the Dome to herald the new millennium did not need to be declared, as she was accompanying him while he was acting in an official capacity, but those received by his guests would have to be.

Correspondence from unsealed Cabinet Office documents has shown reluctance by Downing Street officials to make a declaration on Sir Tony’s behalf. The couple were accompanied at the celebrations by eight guests.

On 4 April 2000, Jonathan Powell, the chief of staff, wrote to Ms Filkin asking if the prime minister should register his attendance. She replied that as he had attended in an official capacity he did not need to, but invitations for four guests or more – worth £65 each with transport, more than the notional £250 threshold for declaration – should be registered as a “benefit”.

Memos between Whitehall departments followed, with Lord Falconer, the minister responsible for the Dome, writing: “I think that the PM should register, because there is no point taking the risk.”

Days later, after Mr Powell got a note from No10 saying “four adults” and “five children” went with Sir Tony to the Dome, he wrote to his boss saying that Ms Firkin “insists that you should register the people who accompanied you to the Dome”. He added that “in future we will need to be very careful about things... where there are free tickets for family members”.