Criticise Blair all you want, he's just become leader of the opposition...

IT'S INCREDIBLE that 10 years after leaving Downing Street, Anthony Charles Lynton Blair still provokes as much bile and vitriol as we have seen today.

His 'crime' this time? To dare to suggest the British people voted to leave without knowing Brexit's terms and conditions and opine that a space existed where he and other people could persuade voters to change their minds.

Basically the former PM is suggesting the sort of insurgency which has brought the likes of Farage, Nuttall, Le Pen and President Trump to the fore except this time in reverse.

His speech has predictably been ripped to shreds by the Brexiteers and the media who whip out their favourite 'affront to democracy' lines when anyone dares suggest Brexit isn't full of milk and honey.

However on this Blair is spot on. The British people did vote leave without knowing the terms and conditions of an exit and a space does exist to change people's minds....it's called the Her Majesty's official opposition.

In a single speech, Blair has done more to oppose Brexit than Jeremy Corbyn has since June 23, 2016 and shown a clear, decisive approach to what is a thorny issue for the Labour Party.

Let's remember the current 'opposition' to the Government have pretty much waived Brexit through the House of Commons, yes amendments were tabled but they failed and many Labour MPs still voted in favour apart from a hardy few who stuck to their principles.

The Liberal Democrats have been principled opponents as have the SNP but the overwhelming narrative is Brexit MUST happen. No, the ATMs must have money, our hospitals must have doctors and nurses and our schools must have teachers.

Against this backdrop, a tissue of lies and half-truths and hypocrisy has been allowed to be 'the norm' and to go unchallenged for fear of being labelled 'unpatriotic'.

It was wonderful to see the Foreign Secretary tear into Mr Blair....Because we all know Boris led the Leave campaign with facts, not with lies such as buses promising £350million extra for the NHS .....

This would be understandable had our nation voted overwhelmingly to leave, such as the 10 percentage point result of the Scottish referendum result. But Brexit was decided by less than the three percentage point margin of error used in all opinion polls.

It was also decided by a margin previously described by Nigel Farage as 'unfinished business' had it been the opposite way around......but shhh we aren't allowed to talk about that.

It's therefore right for someone to squeeze into the gap and pose the awkward questions, because Brexit should only mean Brexit if we can negotiate an exit which ensures our wonderful isle can continue to prosper.

That should be the message from the Labour Party but while Her Majesty's official opposition continues its breakdown, running scared of UKIP while taking even further away from its core voters, then the space exists for someone to exploit.

Ask yourselves this, if not Blair, then who?

No cover up over Whittingdale, he just needs a better taste in wome

SO John Whittingdale has a relationship with a 'dominatrix', the press become aware of the story and had an 'obligation' to report it according to critics.

But they didn't because Whittingdale as Culture Secretary will be the ultimate arbiter over press freedom in this country and now is 'compromised'.

Now I have only worked in local journalism and maybe have a positive view of my profession but sorry, this is not a 'row', it's barely even news.

The key point is Whittingdale is a single man and began and ended the relationship before he became Culture Secretary.

If the press had reported it, Whittingdale could rightfully have claimed an invasion of privacy because as a single man he can do whatever he likes within the law.

Plus the story would have been basically 'single man meets woman on dating website who isn't all she's cracked up to be' – not something which will sell newspapers!

The only point at which it could have been in the public interest is if he had been cheating on his wife/partner, I suspect most editors tossed the story to one side because it's not really news.

If we open the door to reporting on the actions of single men and women in all walks of life then where will it end?

Whittingdale admitted the relationship in a statement and expressed his embarrassment, he's not compromised over regulating the press because he confirmed the relationship himself!

Yes, he'll probably face awkward moments with the editors' of our newspapers for a while and maybe his credibility is damaged but a sense of perspective here is vital.

Whittingdale is entitled to date in private, unless his partner wishes to go public as Justine Miliband did when Ed Miliband was Labour leader.

But maybe have a better choice in women eh John?