Tony Blair should face humiliating grilling over F1 'cover-up', say MPs

Humiliating recall: Tony Blair, pictured on the right after his 1997 interview with the BBC in which he denied any wrongdoing over his dealings with Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone,  faces fresh questions about the affair

At the time, Mr Blair said it was taken 'two or three weeks later' in co-ordination with the Department of Health.  He insisted he 'hadn't decided the route we were to go down' on the day of the meeting Mr Ecclestone on October 16, 1997.

But Whitehall documents released yesterday under freedom of information laws show that in fact, the former Prime Minister instructed his chief of staff to inform the then health minister Tessa Jowell of his decision within hours of the talks.

Conservative MP Patrick Mercer said: 'It now appears Mr Blair was less than honest with the public about this matter. Therefore I believe he must be made to account for himself in front of Parliament.'

Tory work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling said: 'These revelations blow the lid off what looks to have been a culture of deceit in Downing Street under Tony Blair.

'Mr Blair assured us at the time that there was no deception and if, as is now thought, this claim was untrue, Mr Blair has some serious questions to answer.'

Tory MP John Maples said he had been misled in answer to a Parliamentary question on the affair and intended to raise the matter with Commons Speaker Michael Martin today.

The reopening of the affair could also prove embarrassing for Gordon Brown, who was implicated in the scandal (see story below).

The latest details of the affair were released after a two-and-a-half year battle under the Freedom of Information Act.

Briefing notes prepared by officials show that Mr Blair instructed his chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, to signal his support for a derogation just hours after meeting Mr Ecclestone on October 16, 1997.

The following day, Downing Street wrote to public health minister Tessa Jowell stating: 'The Prime Minister would like your ministers to look for ways of finding a permanent derogation for sport, in particular F1.'

On October 24, Ms Jowell wrote to Mr Blair setting out possible options which included the idea of an exemption, but also contained alternatives such as a longer phase-in period for the ban.

But five days later, she received a letter insisting: 'His (the Prime Minister's) view remains that we should seek to negotiate a permanent exemption for Formula 1, backed up by a voluntary agreement with the FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile).'

Miss Jowell duly wrote to the EU - where tobacco advertising legislation was being drafted - seeking a total exemption for F1.

The documents also reveal concern among Whitehall officials over a reply being prepared for Mr Maples, who had tabled a question in Parliament asking on what date Mr Blair had informed health secretary Frank Dobson of the decision to push for an exemption.

A reply was drafted which gave the date as October 29. But a briefing note warned that the answer could be considered 'disingenuous'.

Before the question had been answered, Mr Blair told the Commons, on November 12, that the decision to exempt F1 had been made on November 5.

When the answer to Mr Maples' question was finally given, it referred him to Mr Blair's statement.

Mr Maples said last night: 'I was misled, putting it at its best, in answer to a Parliamentary question.'

A source close to Mr Blair last night insisted it had always been clear that he had written to the Department of Health shortly after his meeting with Mr Ecclestone.

But the final decision to exempt the sport from the ban was not taken until several weeks later after discussions with health ministers and officials, meaning no-one had been misled, the source added.

A spokesman for Mr Blair said:  'There is nothing new here. All these issues were debated at the time.'

The 'lies' exposed by the Mail

After the Formula 1 scandal hit the headlines in 1997, Tony Blair only averted disaster with a carefully choreographed media campaign.

But, nearly three years later in September 2000, the Daily Mail revealed the untruths that had been told over the affair - lies that went to the very top, to both the Prime Minister and his then Chancellor, Gordon Brown.

In his book, Servants of the People, journalist Andrew Rawnsley revealed that Mr Brown had lied when asked on Radio 4's Today programme in November 1997 whether Mr Ecclestone had given money to Labour. Mr Brown had replied: 'I've not been told and I certainly don't know what the truth is.'

Flashback to September 2000: The Mail's revelations

In fact, the Daily Mail revealed, Mr Brown was well aware that Mr Ecclestone had made a donation in January 1997.

And when Mr Brown returned to the Treasury after giving the interview, he had raged at his staff: 'I lied. I lied. My credibility will be in shreds. I lied. If this gets out, I'll be destroyed.'

Furthermore, it emerged Mr Blair had lied in a BBC TV interview at Chequers with John Humphrys on November 16, 1997.

He famously appealed for public trust with his words: 'I think most people who have dealt with me think that I am a pretty straight sort of guy.'

Mr Blair claimed Labour had sought advice about the donations from the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life before the donation had been made public.

In fact, as Rawnsley revealed in September 2000, Labour only wrote to the commissioner after the media started making inquiries - and only asked about a second planned Ecclestone donation, not the £1million already banked.

In addition, the fact that the sum involved was £1million only emerged when Mr Ecclestone revealed it himself.

Fully aware of his duplicity, Mr Blair told an intimate at the time: 'This is the end. They'll get me for this.'

The September 2000 revelations prompted calls for a fresh inquiry into the affair. But the country was still reeling from the wave of fuel protests that month and neither Mr Blair nor Mr Brown was ever called to account.