Standards watchdog to probe prime minister

Sunday, 26 December 2004 12:00 AM

The Parliamentary Standards Watchdog has asked Tony Blair to respond to allegations that he failed to declare a holiday at the home of a businessman linked to the tobacco industry.

Sir Philip Mawer, Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, has written to the Prime Minister again about his break two years ago at a French chateau owned by Alain Dominique Perrin, a former chief executive of Richemont.

Mr Perrin is an executive board member of the luxury goods group, which owns about a fifth of cigarette maker, British American Tobacco, the world's second biggest cigarette firm.

The Sunday Telegraph said Conservative MP for Epsom and Ewell Chris Grayling had made a complaint to Sir Philip that Mr Blair failed to log his stay with Mr Perrin and one at the Tuscan villa of Prince Girolamo Strozzi in the register of members' interests.

"I am not seeking to allege any impropriety in the Prime Minister's relationship with Mr Perrin but surely in the circumstances the Prime Minister would be bound by the rules to declare the hospitality?" Mr Grayling said.

Mr Blair, accompanied by wife Cherie and their three younger children, spent five days at Mr Perrin's 15th century chateau in south-west France in August 2002.

Connections between the New Labour and the tobacco industry are of a sensitive nature, especially after a one million pound donation from Formula One supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, in 1997, was reluctantly returned, after it emerged plans were in train for F1 to be exempted from the tobacco advertising ban.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said last night: "Anything that needs to be registered will be registered. There is correspondence going on. A letter has come from Sir Philip to the Prime Minister and obviously that will be answered in due course."

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