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Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has been accused of violating quarantine rules two weeks after he was photographed at a London club 10 days after a trip to the United States.
Blair, 67, was photographed at Harry’s Bar in London’s Mayfair less than two weeks after returning from a two-day trip to the White House.
A spokesman for the former prime minister said Blair was invited to an “international conference” because of his ties to the Middle East peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
He has been accused of ignoring the quarantine rules after he was not granted a special waiver from the rules, according to The Sunday Telegraph.
His spokesman denied the claims, saying Mr Blair “was told to follow the guidelines on international conferences that he made.”
Tony Blair, 67, was photographed at Harry’s Bar in London’s Mayfair less than two weeks after returning from a two-day trip to the White House.
Mr. Blair was photographed mingling with guests on the South Lawn of the White House on September 14. He held onto his mask while posing for photographs.
The exemption of ‘international conferences’ from the rules applies to diplomats, staff of international bodies such as the UN and formal representatives at international conferences who have been ‘granted privileges and immunities’.
But Blair is considered a private citizen since he left his post as Middle East envoy in 2015.
His spokesperson said: ‘We believe it followed all the UK and US government guidelines as advised.
Mr Blair was tested for Covid prior to leaving the UK, upon arrival at the White House, when he returned to the UK and has been tested multiple times since then. All tests have been negative. They didn’t attend other meetings. ‘
In other places today:
- Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson’s older brother died of coronavirus within hours of being taken to intensive care. The city is currently under Level 3 restrictions, and has one of the highest infection rates in the country.
- London’s hotel industry warned that profits fell by 85% during the first day trading session of the Level 2 lockdown, though drinkers took to the city streets at night.
- Tony Blair denied violating coronavirus isolation rules after returning from a trip to Washington DC
- The House of Commons admitted to violating the curfew by allowing MPs to drink in bars after hours, but did not say whether Health Secretary Matt Hancock was present.
- Coronavirus cases continued to rise across Europe and countries reached record totals in one day as Sweden, without lockdown, said it is considering implementing local measures.
David Jones, a conservative member of Parliament’s public administration committee, told the newspaper that he “sets a shocking example to travelers if a former prime minister appears to be breaking the rules.”
Blair was photographed mingling with guests on the South Lawn of the White House on September 14. He held onto his mask while posing for photographs.
Returning to the UK on 16 September, Blair flew in a private jet in the £ 7,000 an hour Falcon 7X.
It is believed that he had with him a team of protection officers from Scotland Yard, paid for by the British taxpayer.
Ten days after his return, on September 26, he was photographed leaving “one of the most elegant and sophisticated private members clubs in London.”
David Jones, a conservative member of Parliament’s public administration committee, told the newspaper that he “sets a shocking example to travelers if a former prime minister appears to be breaking the rules.” In the photo, Mr. Blair leaves the club.
Those who fail to follow the rules on self-isolation could be liable for a £ 1,000 fine or possible prosecution.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: ‘The FCDO provides travel exemptions to diplomats traveling on business related to UK interests, representatives of international organizations and their families and dependents. Those granted an exemption will not need to isolate themselves. ‘
As of last month, police forces have only issued 38 fines out of more than 4,000 referrals from public health authorities.
The story emerged when Britain recorded its highest death toll from coronavirus in four months after another 150 victims were announced.
Statistics from the Department of Health show that the grim milestone has not been reached since June 10, when 164 laboratory-confirmed coronavirus deaths were announced.
It’s also an 85 percent increase compared to last Saturday, when 81 deaths were recorded, and an increase of 16 from yesterday’s number of 136 victims.
Health chiefs published another 16,171 cases today, just six percent more than the figure recorded last Saturday (15,166), in a sign that the coronavirus outbreak in the UK may be starting to slow down.
Up to 15,650 more positive tests were added to the count yesterday.
Although it continues to rise, the death toll from the virus remains well below the levels seen at the height of the pandemic, when more than 1,000 were recorded each day in early April.
More than half the population also lives under strict coronavirus restrictions, with London entering the curbs of level two and Lancashire joining Liverpool at level three.
But Boris Johnson is resisting calls to plunge the entire country into a two-week circuit breaker lockout amid fears of the damage it could do to the economy.
In July, Blair said the infrastructure to stop the spread of the virus was critical as another national lockdown would not be possible, suggesting that people must learn to live safely with the virus.
Blair described the crisis as “the greatest logistical and practical challenge” ever faced by a government, but criticized ministers for not having established a “containment infrastructure” yet.
He said: ‘The reality is that we are going to live with Covid-19, we are not really going to be able to eliminate it.
‘And when you look at what has been happening in other countries, as the blockade has been eased, more and more problems have appeared and many countries, having entered the blockade and then easing it, are finding spikes in the disease.
Positive tests for coronavirus in London have risen dramatically since early September, but changes in recent weeks suggest that the rate of increase is slowing, with a 37% increase in the seven days to October 7, compared to. with almost double the 84% in the third week of September
There were 136 deaths yesterday, but scientists warned that it could rise to 690 by the end of the month.
You can’t be sure of this, but there is at least a 50/50 chance the disease will reappear in the fall and that’s why it’s absolutely essential to prepare for it now.
And putting every last bit of the containment infrastructure in place to make sure that if that happens, you can control the disease, because you won’t be able to go back to the lockdown that we endure. in March, April and May ».
In August, he claimed that ministers had been wrong about the government’s travel quarantine policy.
He took aim at the government’s 14-day quarantine rules for people returning to the UK from countries where the coronavirus is on the rise, as he said the period of self-isolation could be ‘substantially’ reduced.
He called on ministers to take a more “sensible” approach to calculating risk amid growing speculation that Croatia and Greece could soon join Spain and France on the UK’s “red list.”
Meanwhile, Blair also suggested that ministers had relied too much on officials during the crisis and that they should recognize “where the science ends and the trials begin.”
