An awkward moment for Tony Blair on his way across the pond Monday.
Former prime minister Tony Blair was left red-faced when he was caught travelling on a train without a ticket and said he had no cash to pay the fare, a report said on Wednesday.
Blair, who has earned around 500,000 pounds on the speaking circuit since leaving office in June, was confronted by a ticket inspector as he travelled to Heathrow airport to catch a flight to the United States on Monday, the Daily Mail newspaper reported. He said he had no cash for the 24.50 pounds fare because money an aide had given him was no longer in his pocket. The newspaper, quoting Blair’s spokesman, said his bodyguard offered to pay the ticket, but the inspector said he could travel for free.
A good call, I think, by the inspector. I mean, when a guy has “The Right Honorable” immediately in front of his name you really should cut him some slack.
While I’m sure Blair conducted other business while here, he was in town to accept the 2008 Distinguished International Leader Award from the Atlantic Council Monday, and I had the privilege of sitting in on his afternoon press conference and hearing his speech that evening. (You can read the speech here. A video will be up shortly.) Blair was introduced by José MarÃa Aznar who, in turn, was introduced by Colin Powell.
