Maybe Blair’s right to keep Murdoch’s newspapers on his side

THE latest insight into the workings of 10 Downing Street during Tony Blair’s reign come from assistant spin doctor, Lance Price, who has one particularly chilling claim.

It claims that certainly during his first term Mr Blair promised to make no changes to their EU policy without consulting Rupert Murdoch, who owns the Times and the Sun.

Mr Murdoch's antipathy to the EU is at least partly responsible for the British people's eurosceptic stance, fed as it is on a regular diet of anti-EU fare.

But Mr Blair apparently feels he must maintain Mr Murdoch's newspapers' support to remain in power and perhaps he is correct.

But it suggests that a non-elected person is deciding at least some British government policy. With Britain's often confusing but vigorous interest in the EU, Mr Murdoch's views have a wider influence.

The hold a newspaper owner has on a government must pose questions for the quality of the democracy influenced in this way.

Many believe Mr Blair has moved the British system closer to that of a presidential democracy similar to the United States with himself as president.

But the British government's relationship with the media is strange and its effects are being felt by media covering Britain's presidency of the EU.

It is not unusual for governments and politicians to have a love-hate relationship with the media and to wish to control how they report events.

But it seems Mr Blair's government is willing to push this further than usual.

The latest manifestation of their low level of respect of journalists is the decision to limit the number attending the press conference at the summit of EU leaders this week.

The meeting, being held in Hampton Court outside London on Thursday, was not originally scheduled to take place, but was announced as a special on the EU's economic state.

At first it was to be a two-day event but was then reduced to one. The exact reason for the summit has varied and now the theme is set to be globalisation.

But Britain surprised its fellow EU members by announcing late last week that not all journalists following the summit would be allowed access to their prime ministers.

Instead a number of tickets would be allocated to each country to divide among the journalists from that country. This would allow them travel to the gates of Hampton Court where they could have a quick word with their prime minister if his car slowed down sufficiently.

The rest of the journalists would remain in the press centre in Sandown Park, miles away, where a few hours later they would have the benefit of a press conference given by none other than Tony Blair himself.

Perhaps this is his best chance to tell the world media how he managed his fellow EU leaders most journalists will have been prevented from contacting them so will know no other version of events.

It will be interesting to see if French President Jacques Chirac lets him away with this.

Britain's relations with France are at a particularly low ebb just now.

Mr Blair's refusal to accept any solution that would allow the EU's six-year budget to be agreed last June still rankles and he may find it difficult to get agreement on this now as a result.

If he does not the British presidency will be among the least successful in a long time. Maybe it's no wonder Mr Blair, with his control freak reputation, feels he has to manage the media.