Brought to book

TONY Blair's security costs are already astronomical without the taxpayer having to foot the policing bill so the former Prime Minister can personally sign copies of his vanity memoirs.

Given the disruption at Saturday's signing event in Dublin, it simply was not practical for tomorrow's scheduled appearance in London to go-ahead, even though cancellation sends out the message, probably unfairly, that Mr Blair is no longer welcome in this country.

Mr Blair acknowledged this when he was the star turn on ITV1's new Daybreak breakfast programme. What he did not reveal is the draconian restrictions that are accompanying his book tour. Prospective purchasers of A Journey are not allowed to take cameras into the stores concerned – something many people do when buying a signed book from a celebrity. And, in another break with convention, Mr Blair's entourage let it be known that the former PM would not be writing personal dedications.

Given this, why wasn't a van-load of books taken to one of Mr Blair's many residences, funded on the back of his new-found wealth, so that they could be signed in a manner that did not threaten his own safety, or the wellbeing of the police officers tasked with protecting him round-the-clock?