Ex-UK PM Tony Blair's institute kept receiving money from Saudi Arabia after Khashoggi's murder: Report

Former British prime minister Tony Blair's institute kept advising and receiving money from Saudi Arabi following the murder of prominent Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. According to a report by The Sunday Times on Sunday (August 13), for the past six years, Blair's Institute for Global Change has been helping Saudi Arabia to craft Vision 2030, the modernisation programme spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 

The report said that the partnership, worth millions of pounds, started in late 2017 when the Institute for Global Change seconded staff to work at the Saudi ministry of information and culture. As part of the contract which was a year-long the institute's consultants advised Saudi officials on “the policy and objectives of the reform programme,” the publication reported citing Blair's spokesperson. 

During the deal's final months in 2018, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman faced condemnation over the murder of Khashoggi by Saudi agents.

Following the murder of Khashoggi, Tony Blair considered whether to suspend ties with the Saudi Prince and the kingdom at large as many senior staff suggested to the former British PM that there were reputational and ethical grounds to do so. However, he feared he would lose influence with the prince, the report also said. 

In a statement shared with The Sunday Times, Blair's office said he the “view then and remains strongly of the view now that staying engaged there is justified” despite the “terrible crime” in question. Blair based his view on the “immense and positive importance” of the crown prince’s reforms and the country’s “strategic importance” to the West, the statement added.

The report further said that Blair's institute completed the contract with the Saudi ministry of information. According to his spokesperson, the contract was not renewed. Since then, the institute has entered into separate deals with Riyadh. 

The report pointed out that at the time of Khashoggi's death, Blair had only recently created his non-profit after years of criticism for failing to separate his role as a Middle Eastern peace envoy from his consultancy work at Tony Blair Associates- through which he advised controversial world leaders.

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