Blair heart scare 'cover-up' by No10

Published on Monday 1 March 2004 00:00

DOWNING Street was last night accused of a cover-up over the seriousness of Tony Blair’s recent heart scare.

Former armed forces minister Dr Lewis Moonie said aides wrongly suggested the treatment the Prime Minister received for an irregular heartbeat was minor.

But Dr Moonie, who suffered from a similar condition himself, said it was not a minor procedure and Downing Street should have been more open.

"There was an attempt to suggest the procedure carried out was a minor one," he said. "It was not. Anaesthetising somebody and giving their heart electric shocks is not something you just do in the routine run of medical practice."

He said aides should instead have made it clear that the Prime Minister had a serious condition but had been treated successfully.