Sir Tony Blair, the former prime minister, provoked outrage today by warning gay rights activists not to ‘disrespect’ World Cup hosts Qatar.
Due to its failure to accept LGBT rights, the little Gulf state has been subject to protests and criticism surrounding the event.
However, former Labour leader Sir Tony, who in 2006 invited the former emir Sheikh Hamed Bin Khalifa Al Thani to Downing Street, cautioned that the protests are “not reasonable.”
In an interview with LBC’s News Agents podcast, he stated that the totalitarian state was a UK ally that had made significant financial investments in Britain.
In 1966, when England hosted the World Cup, homosexuality was still outlawed in Britain, he added.
His remarks were criticized by Amnesty International’s UK head executive Sacha Deshmukh, who stated, ‘Qatar’s anti-LGBTQ+ legislation are totally unjustifiable, and there was never any conceivable way that Qatar would be able to host the World Cup without this being repeatedly brought up.
Instead than harkening back to 1966 and a completely different world 56 years ago, Tony Blair should advocate for LGBTQ+ Qataris in the present day who are denied their freedom and fundamental rights.
Blair hails ‘courageous’ jungle animal penis eater Matt Hancock
Sir Tony Blair has extended former health secretary Matt Hancock his support as he returns from the I’m A Celebrity jungle, stating that the unconventional action ‘takes courage’
After placing third on the ITV show, the Conservative MP returns to Westminster to face enraged colleagues and voters, as well as worries about his political future.
The West Suffolk representative exceeded many people’s expectations by reaching the final, however he finished behind the winner, Euro 2022 champion Jill Scott, and Hollyoaks actor Owen Warner in Sunday night’s public vote.
He was suspended from the Conservative parliamentary party and criticized by colleagues, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, after spending 21 days in the Australian jungle.
There, he participated in various Buskucker Trials, including the consumption of camel penis.
However, Sir Tony, who stated that he had not been following the popular television program, offered his support to the former Cabinet minister.
“When you’ve been through the wringer as he has, and as a politician who has reached a certain level in politics, he certainly has quite a bit of courage to do something like that.
“I mean, he can be attacked or something. But I always tell (former Labour front-runner) Ed Balls, who reinvented himself in this extraordinary way after leaving politics, that this is literally the most surprising post-ministerial career I’ve ever encountered.
However, it takes a great deal of courage to do something like that.
I wished him success from the start. I collaborated with him during the pandemic. And, you know, he was working hard on it, as were they all.’
Mr Hancock, who stated that entering the jungle would allow him to reach out to people in a new way, may have had a point, according to the former Labour leader.
The bravery of human rights defenders who are risking their freedom is what is driving change in Gulf countries today, the former prime minister should realize.
As part of a year-long anti-discrimination drive in Qatar, where homosexuality is prohibited, seven European teams, including the two British sides, had wanted to wear the rainbow armband during the tournament.
However, when FIFA threatened them with sports punishments, which began with a yellow card for captains wearing them, executives were forced to shelve these intentions.
Other gestures have subsequently been made, such as lighting the arch of Wembley Stadium in rainbow colors, and BBC commentator Alex Scott did wear the armband during coverage of England’s opening match against Iran.
Sir Tony stated, “Well, you can feel strongly about gay rights, and in fact, my government has passed a great deal of law on the subject, and I fully support it.
‘However, I do not believe it is prudent for us to disrespect Qatar. This is their largest event to date; it is a major event for the nation.
They are our allies and invest a great deal of money in our country.
“I think you can make the point that you hope – as I believe will occur, by the way – across the Middle East… one of the things I can see right now is that there is a sort of social revolution occurring across the Middle East right now.”
And I believe it will ultimately affect the status of women… and the Middle East is opening up today in the Gulf regarding LGBT rights.
The former Labour leader continued, “I believe we risk going too far with this.” Remember, the last time England hosted the World Cup was in 1966, when homosexuality was still illegal.’
Today, LGBT sports minister Stuart Andrew stated that he will not hide who he is and will wear a OneLove armband to the England vs. Wales World Cup match tomorrow.
Sir Keir Starmer, the current leader of the Labour Party, is boycotting the tournament with his frontbench team out of concern for the rights of LGBTQ individuals and women, as well as for the workers who lost their lives preparing for the sport.
Mr. Blair has close ties to the Qatari government in the past. In 2012, a court heard allegations that he facilitated a transaction to assist the royal family in investing in London hotels.
The United States disclosed a batch of private emails in 2015 revealing that his wife Cherie functioned as a type of informal mediator for the Qatari royals, successfully pressing Hillary Clinton to consent to a private meeting with Sheikha Mozah.
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