From the Powell diaries: "I was at my desk at 8.30am on 21 July 1997 when an older member of switch called to say she had William Hague on the line for the prime minister. I was a bit taken aback. Leaders of the opposition have perfectly cordial relations with the prime minister, but an early-morning call was not routine. I told her to say we would call back. I checked with Tony, who was willing to take the call, and I asked her to get Hague back. Instead of calling the office of the leader of the opposition, she phoned the number the caller had given her and put him through. I listened with mounting horror as it became clear that it was a radio hoaxer who didn't even sound much like Hague. Staying on the phone, I asked the private secretary to tell switch to cut the hoaxer off mid-call. Tony was cross with me because he had been handling the conversation with good humour and said he had realised it was a hoax from the first. I was mortified by my mistake, and all day the call was rebroadcast complete with switch saying: "You don't sound like yourself, Mr Hague."
Had Blair been thinking on his feet there, he could've said something like "look Bill, I told you, I'm not that way. I got the cards, the flowers, I took on board everything you said in the member's bar, but I don't swing that way. I'm sorry. You'll find someone. Try Michael Portillo".
It's spooky to think that they got all the way through to Blair directly. I doubt it would happen if somebody (no matter how good) rang the White House
idk about people down in Europe but in America, at least among most anti Iraq war citizens, Blair is generally disliked. strange, i have no honest to god idea what he could have done to piss off so many of us Americans.
Gosh does Tony Blair have a sense of humour, I know people don't like him for the war in Iraq. But he was lied to, the government were duped by Sadam and others into thinking he had WMD's. If it were not for tony Blair there would be more discrimination in the UK, he's done good things too!!!!
