Originally Posted by Daily Mail
Earlier this summer it was reported that Mr Blair had urged Gordon Brown to put pressure on Labour MP Tom Watson, who led the campaign to expose the scandal, to back off – although the former prime minister’s spokesman denied this. On becoming Labour leader in 1994, Mr Blair flew to a conference hosted by Mr Murdoch to end the party’s feud with him. The unlikely alliance continued throughout Mr Blair’s ten years in office as Mr Murdoch’s newspapers – The Times, The Sun and the News of the World – supported him. But news that he played such a significant role in the Murdoch children’s baptism – hosted by Queen Rania of Jordan – reveals a far closer personal relationship between Mr Blair and the media mogul.
The April 5, 2010, issue of Hello! reported that Mr Murdoch’s daughters Grace and Chloe, eight, were baptised at the site where Jesus is said to have been immersed in the Jordan by John the Baptist.
Guests included Hollywood stars Kidman and Jackman, as well as property tycoon Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and Google co-founder Larry Page. Pictures of Mr Murdoch and his high-profile guests fill page after glossy page of Hello!, but there is neither sight nor mention of Mr Blair, now a Middle East envoy.
