The Staggers

The New Statesman’s rolling politics blog

Blair revealed to be godfather to Murdoch's daughter

Wendi Deng reveals that Blair is godfather to her nine-year-old daughter Grace.

By George Eaton Published 05 September 2011 9:56

It looks like Tony Blair is even closer to Rupert Murdoch than anyone imagined. This morning it emerged that Blair is godfather to Murdoch's nine-year-old daughter, Grace, the second youngest of his six children. The secret was divulged by Wendi Deng in an interview in the October edition of Vogue. The magazine reports that Blair, who Deng described as one of Murdoch's "closest friends", was present at the christening on the banks of the River Jordan in 2010, at the spot where Jesus is traditionally believed to have undergone the same ceremony.

The revelation goes some way to explaining why, unlike Peter Mandelson for example, Blair has refused to distance himself from Murdoch since the phone hacking scandal went global. As I previously noted, when asked about the subject at a press conference in Australia, Blair went out of his way to avoid criticising Murdoch and even claimed that the News Corp boss had taken "responsibility" for the scandal. In fact, Murdoch told MPs during the select committee hearing: "I do not accept ultimate responsibility. I hold responsible the people that I trusted to run it and the people they trusted."

The news is a political gift to the Tories, who will use it to reinforce their claim that Labour was just as guilty as them of kowtowing to Murdoch. To his credit, Ed Miliband has never sought to deny as much and has deftly distanced himself from Blair and Gordon Brown, both of whom were obsessed with wooing Murdoch and his proxies.

Blair's office has so far refused to comment on the news but it will be hard for the former prime minister to avoid the subject. The appearance of former News of the World editor Colin Myler and Tom Crone, the paper's former chief lawyer, before the media select committee means that the Murdochs will be back at the top of the news agenda.

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Tags: Rupert Murdoch Tony Blair

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30 comments

Tue, 2011-09-06 00:20 — ISC

I am, if such were possible, even sadder that I voted for the Cnut.

Tue, 2011-09-06 01:40 — The Peak Oil Poet (not verified)

Blair and Bush and Big John Howard
Sophist, crook and little coward
Sick in mind and word and deed
slaves of fear and fame and greed

Kings they are in their own sight
but kings who never lead a fight
all they know is how to lie
and how to let poor people die

many thousands have they killed
and many coffers have they filled
these men of rank these men of means
these men who've killed so many dreams

http://thepeakoilpoet.blogspot.com/2011/08/blair-and-bush-and-big-john-h...

Fri, 2011-09-09 01:56 — Marcus Bessner (not verified)

Blair has earned the assassin's bullet.

Tue, 2011-09-06 05:26 — AN (not verified)

The weirdness of Murdoch is never ending I find it weird as in Psycho
How this man/devil Murdoch who has always shown nothing but distain for Politicians and Celebrities in his Papers but gets a huge kick out of rubbing shoulders with them in private I remember him targeted the royals ruthlessly in the 80s/90s but all along it was said he wanted the Queen to give him a knighthood Sir Murdoch.. .. Not Now either Blair has fallen into the Cult of Murdoch or Murdoch has something Major on Blair.

Tue, 2011-09-06 05:47 — Gideon Polya

Wendi Deng showed commendable spirit in defending her husband Rupert Murdoch from his assailant at the Parliamentary Inquiry.

However it was utterly inappropriate to have Blair as Godfather to their child in view of Blair's involvement in the ongoing Iraqi Genocide and Afghan Genocide, atrocities that in terms of deaths are now numerically commensurate with the WW2 Jewish Holocaust (5-6 million deaths, 1 in 6 dying from deprivation, 1.5 million children killed).

Thus in Iraq (1990-2011) non-violent avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation total 2.9 million, violent deaths total 1.7 million, under-5 infant deaths total 2.0 million (90% avoidable and due to gross, war criminal US Alliance violation of the Geneva Convention) and refugees total 5-6 million - an Iraqi Holocaust and an Iraqi Genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention (see "Iraqi Holocaust, Iraqi Genocide": https://sites.google.com/site/iraqiholocaustiraqigenocide/ ).

In post-invasion Afghanistan (2001-2011) non-violent avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation total 3.8 million, violent deaths total an estimated 1.2 million, under-5 infant deaths total 2.7 million (90% avoidable and due to gross, war criminal US Alliance violation of the Geneva Convention) and refugees total 3-4 million with a further 2 million Pashtun refugees generated in NW Pakistan - an Afghan Holocaust and an Afghan Genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention (see "Afghan Holocaust, Afghan Genocide": http://afghangenocide.blogspot.com/ and https://sites.google.com/site/afghanholocaustafghangenocide/ ).

Blair should be arraigned before the International Criminal Court (ICC) together with Bush, Obama, Brown, Cameron, Sarkozy, Merkel, Harper, Howard, Rudd and Gillard.

Wed, 2011-09-07 13:16 — Union Steve

Eddy's right as far as Tory MP's go Mr Posh is Not in the same class. History will show the Thatcher/Blair years as the dark period of neoliberalism leading to the fall of capitalism.

Tue, 2011-09-06 13:39 — Awake!

lady j
'Sadly, many readers/listeners believe all the smears they read or listen to against decent members of the Labour Party who are not in the Blairite clique.'
u mean balls?

Tue, 2011-09-06 13:46 — peter (not verified)

I stand by my earlier very negative assessment of Blair and the religious right.

But the blathering of Gideon Polya about putting various people on ICC trial for various wars, esp. Afghanistan, is no more convincing than would be a blathering that the same thing should happen to all the Allies involved in the European theatre of WWII. It is utterly unconvincing as it stands, simply quoting numbers on deaths. Let's try to keep this less simplistic.

Mon, 2011-09-05 10:20 — writeon1

I think what this bizarre piece of 'news' reveals is that Murdoch is actually Blair's Godfather.

Mon, 2011-09-05 10:24 — Mike S (not verified)

I think most of us are long past being shocked by anything associated with Blair.

Mon, 2011-09-19 13:39 — representingthemambo (not verified)

A naueasting revelation but I suppose looking at it more closely not really a surprise. We've done more on this at:

http://representingthemambo.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/blair-and-murdoch/

Mon, 2011-09-05 10:38 — AlbertoG (not verified)

Don't know about murdoch being blair's godfather, certainly points to him being his sugardaddy...

Mon, 2011-09-05 11:18 — Andyb (not verified)

This story demonstrates nicely just how corrupt our political class really is. They don't serve us, they serve a rich, powerful anonymous elite.

Mon, 2011-09-05 11:27 — p j wall (not verified)

Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to the Fraud that is Tony Blair!!, the guy is a total Embarrassment to the labour movement!, along with his wife, the both of them are shameless, greedy, selfish, they would attend a gangsters birthday party for the right price!!!, The blood he has on his hands?, i`d like to think he doesn`t get a full nights sleep!, but i don`t think he`s got a conscious anyway!!.

Mon, 2011-09-05 11:44 — Fergus Pickering (not verified)

Really isn't this a bit of a mountain out of a molehill? You would think Murdoch was the mafia the way you lot go on. Has Murdoch had any enemies rubbed out? Do his minions habitually carry shotguns? And as for the routine vilification of Blair - he is the ONLY Labour politician to have won office since 1979. Brown never WON anything at all, except a rock solid seat in Scotland. And I wouldn't count on the adenoid kid to change things.

Mon, 2011-09-05 11:59 — Mark Jones (not verified)

Enough to make you puke. And dont tell me murdochs children are the second coming. HA HA CANT WAIT FOR THE TIDE TO CHANGE.

Mon, 2011-09-05 12:34 — Mrs,M L Bonwick-Jones (not verified)

I am shocked and horrified of all Tony Blairs misdealings this is by so far the worse! After all Rupert Murdoch is on parr with a mass murderer and phone hacking is the crime of the century! no wonder Labour and the Left find it far more interesting then the economy and other boring subjects!
I am shocked that Tony Blair being 'the god father' did not leave a horses head on Gordon Browns pillow, so prehaps the very lovely Ed Miliband needs to be careful, as Ed balls may have darker plans we know that particular gentleman likes plotting!

Mon, 2011-09-05 12:35 — DEMB (not verified)

This will all be forgotten when its revealled that Blair is the Godfather to Gaddafi's children...

Mon, 2011-09-05 13:03 — Mizar (not verified)

Is Clegg a Godfather? Enquiring minds want to know.

Mon, 2011-09-05 13:09 — iainburnshill

Is there no way we can export this man permanently to the US?

Mon, 2011-09-05 13:53 — Mrs,M L Bonwick-Jones (not verified)

@ Mizar No Nick Clegg has no christian faith so he is not a godfather, although his wife is a godparent, but far more interesting is that a very distinguished Lib Dem MP maybe the godfather of a Labour MP's child!

Tue, 2011-09-06 15:49 — Bill Easson (not verified)

Both Blair and Murdoch have Mafia connections----both are 'Godfathers'

Mon, 2011-09-05 15:24 — Mizar (not verified)

Mrs Jones ... no, you will likely find that Clegg is becoming a believer. I deduce this from his policy of reversing his position on almost everything.

Mon, 2011-09-05 15:51 — peter (not verified)

So the (so-called) mediator for Middle East peace is the godfather of the child of the owner of Fox News. The purveyors of respectability on the goofy and dangerous christian and jewish religious right now seem to have the most famous recent convert to catholicism rather close. The hellfire punishments promised by the muslim goofy and dangerous religious right might be quite appropriate here.

Thu, 2011-09-08 17:10 — David Faull (not verified)

What a surprise! The truth about all the leaders of the two main parties is that they support a voting system which time and the development of parliamentary procedures has made biased and undemocratic but which they preserve in their party and their own vested interest. We now have the first government with a mandate to rule since Chamberlain in 1935!! Yet we regard fiddling the petty cash as greater corruption than fiddling election results. What price British hypocrisy?

Mon, 2011-09-05 19:17 — Lady J (not verified)

I have tried to highlight how Blair and the Blairites are ruining the Labour party, time and time agagin, but I guess they have the protection of the media who try to portray them in a positive light. Sadly, many readers/listeners believe all the smears they read or listen to against decent members of the Labour Party who are not in the Blairite clique.

Tue, 2011-09-06 19:09 — carole herbert (not verified)

can't you all see it ??
blair can...he feels it....

he is a man on the run...a moral fugutive, a hunted spectre with hollow spaces where the rest of us have eyes...

....that's why he gorges now....

a man can elude anything but himself and a line of ghosts ....

he is lady macbeth...' out..out damned spot'....

but the blood won't erase and
floods over him in the aloneness of dark night......

no priest can deliver him...
no confession will free him...
no crucifix shall save him...

and a thousand souls are crouched in his shadow waiting to gather him up.....and take him to hell...

Mon, 2011-09-05 23:08 — LovestoSpooge (not verified)

I love all these comments about how corrupt our politicians and the system is. None of you do a damn thing about except continue to vote them in. It's your fault.

Tue, 2011-09-06 21:09 — Eddy S (not verified)

blair knows about influence and how to win friends, he knows how to win elections multiple times, cameron is not in the same class.

Tue, 2011-09-06 00:04 — Vaishwords (not verified)

Blair is Murdoch’s best friend and Cameron’s former press secretary was New’s of the World editor - can the relationship between media and the political establishment get any cosier and shadier? http://www.vaishwords.com/2011/07/integrity-honour-and-other-arcane.html