US Edition The former prime minister announced on Monday that he would donate “the proceeds” from the forthcoming book to Britain’s biggest military charity.
The gesture will mean as much as £5 million is paid to the charity, it was widely suggested. It will help pay for rehabilitation facilities for seriously injured Services personnel. But Mr Blair’s office failed to answer a series of questions about how much money is involved.
The man who committed British forces to military action five times while in office was also accused of using the donation as “blood money” to appease families of those killed or injured in the conflicts.
Since standing down as prime minister in 2007, Mr Blair has amassed a personal fortune thought to be worth tens of millions of pounds. But his finances have been shrouded in secrecy and many politicians and service families remain highly suspicious of him.
Relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq demanded that he disclose exactly how much money the charity should expect.
Mr Blair will publish A Journey, an account of his political career, next month. It is expected to be one of the biggest-selling political books of the year.
In a statement on its website, Mr Blair’s office said he had decided to give all the money he would make from the book to the Legion. “Tony Blair decided on leaving office that he would donate the proceeds of his memoirs to a charity for the Armed Forces as a way of marking the enormous sacrifice they make for the security of our people and the world. The Royal British Legion is just such a cause,” the statement said.
The Daily Telegraph put detailed questions to Mr Blair’s office about the donation, its value and its nature.
Spokesmen for Mr Blair declined to answer many of those questions, or to supply basic information including how much his donation is worth.
A spokesman said only: “It is absolutely everything he would have made from the book” and confirmed that the gift covered all editions published in all countries “in perpetuity”.
The Legion also declined to give details, and the charity’s officials contacted its trustees asking them not to disclose any information.
It has been widely reported that Mr Blair received an advance of more than £4 million from his publishers. Global sales of his memoirs will generate hundreds of thousands of pounds more.
It is not clear whether the offer to the charity includes the advance or whether the donation will simply be “proceeds” accumulated on top of the advance, which is usually repaid to the publisher.
There are also questions over whether the eventual profits will be donated before they are taxed and whether the entire donation will be set against the tax liabilities of the complex web of companies and trusts involved in Mr Blair’s finances.
He will be under pressure to donate any fees from public speaking engagements carried out to publicise his book. John Miller, whose son Simon was one of the six military policemen killed in Iraq in 2003, questioned how much was going to reach the charity.
“I can’t understand why he has pondered all this time about what he is going to do with the money,” Mr Miller said.
“He should have said from the start that he didn’t want to accept any advance payment – how much of that advance is actually going to go to the British Legion?
“When you think about it, because of the amount of tax, they may end up getting very little. He should come clean and explain exactly how much money is going to the Legion and what has happened to the rest.”
Chris Simpkins, the director-general of the Royal British Legion, which is building a rehabilitation facility called the Battle Back Challenge Centre, welcomed the gift.
“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,” he said.
But critics described the donation as “blood money” and one public relations expert called the move the “best PR stunt of the year”. The former prime minister has kept a low profile in Britain since leaving office. During a rare public appearance earlier this year, he was heckled by anti-war protesters as he gave evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry into the war in Iraq.
He angered many when he declared that he had “no regrets” over the 2003 invasion – despite the failure to find weapons of mass destruction. They had been the justification for the decision to topple Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator.
Roger Bacon, whose son Major Matthew Bacon was killed in Iraq in 2005, suggested that Mr Blair’s refusal to say sorry at the inquiry made it hard to trust the motivation for his gift.
“It makes it very difficult for me to believe that he is doing this simply out of a good heart,” he said.
“I would say that it is a guilty conscience which says that he ought to do something.
“Perhaps if he had not gone into Iraq and he had written these memoirs, he wouldn’t see the need to give the money to charity.”
Phil Cooper, whose son Jamie was 19 when he was seriously injured by mortar bombs in Basra in 2006, said that he could not welcome the gift.
“I think he is just doing this to appease his guilty conscience – he was the one who sent them there in the first place. He certainly doesn’t have to worry about money,” Mr Cooper said.
Falklands veteran Simon Weston, who campaigns for ex-service personnel, added: “If he donated £460 million it would not be enough to wash his hands clean of all the blood.”
Mark Borkowski, a public relations expert, said: “It is a stroke of PR genius – probably the best PR stunt I have seen all year. Tony Blair has one of the most toxic brands around, but this will deflect a certain amount of criticism, which is a genius move.”
Lindsey German, of the Stop The War Coalition, said: “It shows Blair is worried about the adverse publicity. Blair lied about the Iraq war, he refused to express any regret at the Chilcot inquiry and his attempt to salve his conscience will be little comfort to those injured or who have lost their loved ones.”
Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon was killed in Iraq in 2004, said: “He’s never come out and actually apologised to the families and kids who have lost loved ones.”