Tony Blair made a brief re-entry to domestic politics on Thursday night, performing a comic turn at a Labour fundraiser at which a signed copy of the Alastair Campbell diaries was snapped up for £60,000.
A volume of The Blair Years, signed by Mr Campbell, Mr Blair, Gordon Brown and John Prescott, was bought by a businessman with Labour links. The day before, a copy signed by just Mr Campbell and Mr Blair went for £8,000. Speaking before dinner, Mr Blair joked about his difficulty in coming to terms with life after Downing Street.
Speaking to a star-studded audience at Wembley Stadium, Mr Blair revealed that after a decade in office he needed to be taught how to use a mobile phone.
When the former Prime Minister finally managed to fire off a text message, he was somewhat bemused to receive one back that said: “Who are you?”
Losing the trappings of power have also affected Mr Blair’s travelling habits. He confessed to becoming confused every time his driver stopped at a red light – because as Prime Minister he used to go straight through them.
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Mr Blair was appearing at the fundraiser alongside Gordon Brown to celebrate “ten years of sporting achievement”.
Mr Brown also spoke, roving across the stage with a mike attached to his lapel. The Prime Minister told the audience that he had already experienced his first row with Alistair Darling, but did not say what it was over.
A host of celebrity guests were in attendance, including Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United boss, Sam Allardyce, the Newcastle manager, and Mick Hucknall, the Simply Red singer.
The oscar-winning film producer Lord Puttnam – of Chariots of Fire fame – made a special film to be distributed on DVD to guests.
Guests toured the stadium and tried their hands at sports including soccer, basketball, table tennis and rowing. But they paid for the privilege. Packages for the evening started at £1,000. The Labour party also guaranteed the inner-city sports charity StreetGames a minimum donation of £10,000 from the event.