Revealed: Blair's F1 tobacco advertising deal

Published on Saturday 11 October 2008 23:39

NEW light has been shed on New Labour's first sleaze scandal, with newly released documents revealing that Tony Blair personally intervened to secure Formula One's exemption from a tobacco advertising ban just hours after meeting the sport's boss, Bernie Ecclestone.

The Government has always maintained that the meeting did not influence the final decision over the exemption – even though Ecclestone was a major party donor at the time.

Shortly after the scandal erupted, the then Prime Minister appeared on the BBC's On The Record programme to famously insist that he was a "pretty straight kind of guy". At the time, claims that Blair had "railroaded" the move past ministers were also strongly denied.

But Whitehall briefing notes published last night cast doubt on the version of events given by officials both to Parliament and to lobby journalists when the sleaze scandal first broke in 1997. They reportedly show that Blair instructed his chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, to signal his support for an exception to be made just hours after meeting Ecclestone on October 16, 1997.

The following day, Downing Street wrote to the then public health minister Tessa Jowell stating: "The Prime Minister would like your ministers to look for ways of finding a permanent derogation for sport, in particular F1." On October 24, Jowell wrote to Blair setting out possible options, which included the idea of an exemption, but also contained alternatives such as a longer phase-in period for the ban.

But five days later, she received a letter insisting: "His (the Prime Minister's] view remains that we should seek to negotiate a permanent exemption for Formula 1."

After Blair's response, Jowell wrote to the EU seeking a total exemption for Formula One.