London, Sept 26(ANI): Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's role as a Middle East peace envoy has come under the scanner over claims that he used the position to promote lucrative business deals for clients of an investment bank, which pays him two million pounds a year for the senor advisor post.
Blair, who is responsible for fostering peaceful ties between Israel and Palestine as a Quartet( the UN, (the EU, the U.S. and Russia) representative allegedly used the post to promote one billion pound contracts with British Gas and mobile phone firm Wataniya in Palestine.
Both companies are major clients of JP Morgan, the U.S. investment bank, which employs Blair as a senior adviser, the Daily Mail reports.
Blair supported the development of a huge gas field operated by British Gas off the Gaza coast, and the opening up of radio frequencies to allow Wataniya to operate a phone network in the West Bank.
"Tony Blair has advocated for both the Wataniya project and the Gaza gas development at the direct request of Palestinians. It is his responsibility as Quartet representative to work to build the Palestinian economy," Blair's spokesperson said.
"In neither case was Mr Blair even aware that JPMorgan had a connection with the company. He never discussed it with them. They never raised it with him," he added.
A documentary, The Wonderful World Of Tony Blair depicts that his act has led to a conflict of interests and that the Quartet does not have a code of conduct to regulate such acts.
French diplomat Anis Nacrour described the Quartet as a 'smokescreen' for American-Israeli business interests in the region.
"It is not altogether clear that Blair is separating his work as the representative of the Office of the Quartet and his business interests.Clearly if he was holding a ministerial office in Britain, that kind of conflict wouldn't be tolerated," University of London's public life expert Dr Nicholas Allen said.(ANI)
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