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Tony Blair given role at Lansdowne, hedge fund ‘which bet on banks crash’
25 Jan 2010Tony Blair is to earn a six-figure sum from top hedge fund Lansdowne Partners giving its executives talks on his “geopolitical insights”.
The former prime minister will give four staff-only presentations to Mayfair-based Lansdowne in the coming months. He is already special adviser to investment bank JPMorgan and to Zurich Financial.
Lansdowne reportedly made £100 million last year betting on the collapse in Barclays bank share price, and a similar amount on the failure of Northern Rock in 2007.
Mr Blair's role at the firm is bound to be controversial because among Lansdowne's executives is Arnab Banerji, whom Mr Blair recruited in 2002 as one of his advisers on City matters. At the time of Mr Banerji's appointment, Opposition leaders complained that he was a Labour donor and close friend of Mr Blair.
Reader views (11)
Why would any business signal up such an iffy red flag association around its name and brand with such an abysmal appointment.
- Mark, London, 26/01/2010 11:35
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Well done Tony you deserve the job, after all you laid the foundations for creating a well balanced economy.......shame your banker mates mucked it up for everyone else.
PS - When does he become Chairman of The Conservative Party?
- Peter, Wandsworth, London, 26/01/2010 11:30
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Does everyone remember Labour's outrage at bankers earning more than the PM?
- Ian, London, 26/01/2010 10:51
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Is Bank reform possible at all in this environment?
- Ram2009, Reading, 26/01/2010 10:38
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Perhaps he will give them an insight into how he allowed GB to ruin the economy of the UK. My God that shouldn't take long !! 1.Spend more than you earn on unproductive projects that will never come to fruition but make me lots of friends. 2. Start two wars and cost the lives of some of the finest people that we have in public service in the UK but fail to equip them with proper equipment. 3. Line the pockets of highly paid friends (lawyers/charlatans) with never ending enquiries i.e. the Savill enquiry (has been on the go longer than any DFS/SCS furniture sales) and has only cost £200,000,000 !! Need I say more.
- Nick Holland, glasgow, 26/01/2010 09:59
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What does Landsdown and JP Morgan get by hiring Blair? Access to the sensitive and highly secret information Blair acquired whilst PM of this country. What does Blair get? A million dollars a year (plus bonus).
It is time for the UK to stop this individual selling us all short. His earnings from roles that rely on him being an ex PM should be taxed at 100% and he should be banned for life from exploiting knowledge gained whilst PM. It's called the Official Secrets Act, which should also apply to Bliar. He is a truly disgusting human being, but the establishment allows his disturbing money grab. Some are more equal than the rest of us, and I for one am left sick to the core!
- Bobby Smith, London, 26/01/2010 09:47
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Where are all the comments from the Labour supporters who rant and rave about the so called millionaires in the Conservative party. Just as many on the Labour benches all milking the system for themselves to line their gruby pockets!
- Tojo, Hythe, 26/01/2010 08:29
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This country is run for the benefit of a very few, unfortunately to the detriment of the many.
- So, Oxfordshire, England, 25/01/2010 21:35
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Just how many jobs does "SuperBlair" now have ?
- Richard Sixsmith, Belgrade, Serbia, 25/01/2010 20:21
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Lucky he didn't supply their intelligence last year or they'd have been long and wrong.....
- Mark, London, 25/01/2010 19:46
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Well I have a few insights on the Blair blighter and I am available for hire too.
- Fred, Horsham, 25/01/2010 16:43
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