Blair sparks heckling and walkout at union conference

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair sparked boos, heckling and a walkout as he faced a further challenge to his authority in a speech to Britain’s unions.

As Mr Blair got to his feet at the Brighton Conference Centre to address 700 delegates, a group of activists left the hall, including Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union.

Some of the delegates who remained in the hall shouted and heckled when Mr Blair mentioned Iraq, Afghanistan and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Mr Crow, who led the walkout, said: “What is the point of listening to someone when you cannot believe a word they say?

“In opposition, Blair promised a publicly owned railway, an ethical foreign policy and full labour laws.

“He has delivered privatisation, illegal wars and the boast that Britain has the harshest anti-union legislation in western Europe.”

It was the final speech to the annual TUC Conference by Mr Blair, who has said he will stand down as Labour Party leader next year.

Later, union leaders criticised the speech as proof that he was out of touch with workers.

Officials said they thought Mr Blair looked uncomfortable making what was always going to be a difficult speech.

Tony Woodley, leader of the Transport and General Workers Union, said: “It was sad to see such a consummate performer perform so poorly.”

The prime minister received 23 seconds of polite applause from delegates when he finished his speech.

Earlier, Northern Secretary Peter Hain launched his bid for Labour’s deputy leadership, saying there should be no major change in the government’s direction, despite growing hostility towards the prime minister.

Mr Hain said: “What we need to do is make a bridge to the future that builds on our success and doesn’t turn our back on our success.

“Al Gore made that mistake in the US in turning his back on President Clinton’s success and he lost.”

Throwing his support behind Gordon Brown, he said “no one could or should beat” the chancellor to the leadership.

“I believe I can bind back together the government with the party,” he added.

Mr Hain is likely to face a contest with Education Secretary Alan Johnson — although some have tipped Mr Johnson to snatch the ultimate prize from Mr Brown’s grasp.