Strain takes toll as Blair sees doctor twice in two days

Published on Friday 28 November 2003 00:00

TONY Blair’s health was under question again yesterday when Downing Street admitted he had seen doctors for a second time in two days after suffering stomach pains.

The Prime Minister pushed on with a hectic schedule, including chairing the weekly meeting of Cabinet, but his aides struggled to quash rumours that the strain of criticism over Iraq and the next threatened rebellion by Labour back-benchers was taking its toll on his health.

A doctor had been called to Downing Street on Wednesday evening, following the Queen’s Speech, after Mr Blair complained of stomach pains. He then called for a second opinion from a consultant who rushed through London traffic on a motorcycle to tend to him.

Both doctors returned to No 10 yesterday to give Mr Blair a check-up, after which his official spokesman declared he was "perfectly fine and getting on with his job".

However, it emerged that a hospital had been put on stand-by to admit the Prime Minister on Wednesday evening had his condition deteriorated.

Mr Blair left London for an overnight visit to Wales yesterday and said he was feeling "fine", but it was later disclosed he had at first feared he was suffering appendicitis.

Downing Street refused to specify what had caused the Prime Minister’s ailment, stressing that they would only comment in detail on his health if he was seriously ill.

The spokesman said: "Everyone, including the Prime Minister, is entitled to some privacy regarding their medical history.

"The doctors who saw the Prime Minister yesterday popped back, as I said they would, just before lunch. There are no plans for them to see the Prime Minister again."

But No 10 clouded the issue of whether the public would ever have been told about Mr Blair’s complaint if the media had not begun inquiring about it.

The spokesman said: "There is a qualitative difference between the Prime Minister being admitted to hospital and the Prime Minister seeing a doctor in Downing Street and no treatment following that as a result. I think the public accept that.

"As we showed when the Prime Minister was admitted to hospital with his episode of irregular heartbeat, when the Prime Minister is admitted to hospital or is taken unwell then we will give the full background to that."

Mr Blair, 50, was rushed into hospital just weeks ago for emergency treatment to correct an irregular heartbeat.

Doctors diagnosed supraventricular tachycardia - a condition which causes heartbeat irregularities and shortness of breath - and ordered the father-of-four to rest for a day.