Hillary Clinton emails: Cherie Blair lobbied for Qatari crown prince
New emails released from Hillary Clinton’s private account show
that Cherie Blair lobbied the US secretary of state on behalf of the
crown prince of Qatar, writing: “As you know I have good links to the
Qataris.” In a 2010 email marked confidential, Blair sought to arrange a meeting between Clinton and Qatar’s young crown prince, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.
Blair has previously denied she acted as a lobbyist for the crown prince’s mother. In a letter to the Guardian in July, she
described the claim as “sensationalist and inaccurate”. It emerged that
Blair had brokered a “woman to woman” meeting between Clinton and
Sheikha Mozah, the crown prince’s mother.
The new email – part of the latest batch from Clinton’s private server
to be released to the US State Department as part of a congressional
investigation into her use of private email – was sent on 7 June 2010.
In it, Blair wrote: “As you know I have good links to the Qataris.
Sheikha Mosah’s son is the 31/32 year old Crown Prince and she is keen
that he starts to build up an international profile … Is a meeting
possible? Or maybe we could set up an initial phone call? Can you let me
know if this appeals to you all.”
The crown prince, Blair explained, had been appointed head of Qatar’s
national food security programme. “He is aware that food security is an
issue you are majoring on and would love to meet you in person to
discuss this and to explore potential partnership issues between US and Qatar,” she wrote.
Clinton responded eight days later. She wrote to Blair: “I would be
happy to meet w him. How should I follow up to arrange a mutually
agreeable time. All the best to you.”
On 30 June, Blair emailed again: “Hillary can you give me a telephone
number the Qatari Crown Prince can ring you on and he will get in
touch. Alternatively I can get his personal phone number for you. What’s
best for you?”
Five days later, Clinton emailed to say that “we are setting up a
call for next week” with the crown prince, and signed off: “Love your
work on women and mobile phones. Hope all is well – H.”
Qatar’s
conservative ruling family owns London properties including the Shard,
Harrods and the capital’s largest private house, 1,2,3 Cornwall Terrace,
next to Regent’s Park. Sheikha Mozah’s husband is Sheikh Hamad bin
Khalifa al-Thani, who was emir from 1995 to 2013 and is worth an
estimated £1.5bn.
Blair has characterised her confidential messages to Clinton as
harmless. She says she got to know Sheikha Mozah through her work with
the disability charity Scope, of which she is a patron. She visited
Qatar several times as its representative, and got to know the emir’s
wife because of their shared interest in disability.
At the time, Tony Blair had left Downing Street and was working as
Middle East envoy on behalf of the UN, EU and Russia. It would have been
more usual to arrange an appointment with Clinton via regular
diplomatic channels, such as the US embassy in Qatar.
There was no immediate comment from Cherie Blair’s office.
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