On Air: Has Tony Blair's donation affected your opinion of him?
| 10:41 UK time, Tuesday, 17 August 2010
The former British PM is donating the profits from his memoirs (called "My Journey") to the Royal British Legion to honour their "courage and sacrifice"
Mr Blair's spokesman referred to a speech he made to the House of Commons on his last day in office :
"'I believe that they [the Armed Forces] are fighting for the security of this country and the wider world against people who would destroy our way of life. But whatever view people take of my decisions, I think that there is only one view to take of them: they are the bravest and the best.'"
And the Legion themselves seem happy :
"Mr Blair's generosity is much appreciated and will help us to make a real and lasting difference to the lives of hundreds of injured personnel."
So why the fuss ?
This is the kind of rehabilitation work the 4.6 million pounds from Mr Blair will be helping to fund, but relatives of soldiers who lost their lives aren't happy:
John Miller's son was by an Iraqi mob in 2003 :
"Everybody knows this was blood money. He wants people to look at him in a better light.
It would have been much better if he had given it to the families who have lost their sons in Iraq or Afghanistan."
Carol Jones's son too :
"I think this donation is because of a very big guilty conscience for the 179 deaths in Iraq. He is not prime minister any more. Why can't he disappear off the face of the earth? Why does he keep coming back?"
Is this a genuinely charitable donation ? an act of contrition ? Does it demonstrate Mr Blair has a conscience ? or is it too hard to shake the "blood money" accusations ?
Does the man who helped the world get rid of Saddam Hussein have nothing to be apologetic about ?
If you were working for the British Legion would you think twice about taking the money ? Or does it simply not matter as long as wounded and injured soldiers get the very best treatment they can ?
