James Forsyth James Forsyth

Tony Blair revealed to be godfather to one of Rupert Murdoch’s children

It is a sign of just how close the Blairs and the Murdochs were that Tony is godfather to one of Rupert Murdoch’s young daughters. But it is also a sign of the changed politics around Murdoch that this news will now be a major embarrassment to Blair.

Wendi Deng Murdoch has, the Daily Telegraph reports, told the October edition of Vogue that Blair was present at the christening of her two daughters on the banks of the River Jordan last year. He is, the paper says, godfather to the elder one.

The news of this deeply personal link between Blair and Murdoch will strengthen Cameron’s case when he tries to argue that it was a succession of British politicians, and not just him, who allowed themselves to become too close to Rupert Murdoch and his companies.

This week there will be a whole slew of stories about the whole phone hacking saga as the Culture, Media and Sport select committee hears from the former News of the World editor Colin Myler and its former legal manager Tom Crone who have both cast doubt on some of the details of James Murdoch’s testimony to the committee at the end of the last parliamentary term.

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