Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 1103 Sun. July 08, 2007  
   
International


'Blair wanted Diana to be ambassador for Britain'


The forthcoming diaries of Tony Blair's former press chief contain details about how the former British prime minister wanted princess Diana to be an ambassador for Britain, the Daily Mirror said Saturday.

Blair secretly met the princess before and after he became prime minister in 1997, the newspaper said, quoting a "well-placed source" who had seen parts of its former political editor Alastair Campbell's book "The Blair Years".

But the meetings were so sensitive they had to be held away from the heart of British political life, Westminster, because as a member of the publicly apolitical royal family Diana could have been accused of politicking, it said.

"Campbell's diaries tell how Blair and Diana always held their private meetings away from Westminster," the source was quoted as saying of the book, which is published Monday.