Andy McSmith's Diary: Tony Blair comes out in defence of 'scary' Dick Cheney

'I didn’t think it was as fantastical as conventional wisdom opined'

It was evident from the first days of the invasion that President Bush and Mr Blair might get away with the invasion, but if they tried to stay in the country they would be in trouble. (Getty)

There is a passage in Tony Blair’s memoirs in defence of Dick Cheney, the hardline US Vice-President who was a driving force behind the Iraq war. If Cheney had had his way, after the US had brought Saddam Hussein down, they would have gone after the leaders of Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, North Korea, and the whole “Axis of Evil”.

“To those on the left, he is an uncomplicated figure of loathing,” Blair wrote. “His attitude terrified and repelled people. But I didn’t think it was as fantastical as conventional wisdom opined.”

Among those who found Cheney’s attitude scary – we now learn – was ex-President George Bush, father of President George W. A review in Sunday’s New York Times of Bush senior’s new biography, by Jon Meacham, reveals that Dad did not approve of that term Axis of Evil, and reckoned that Cheney grew more hawkish with age under the influence of his “iron-ass, tough-as-nails” wife, Lynne. But, he added: “It’s not Cheney’s fault, it’s the President’s fault.”

Bush Jnr then told Meacham that his father “would never say to me, ‘Hey, you need to rein in Cheney…” So at least father and son know how to communicate, via a biographer, unlike the Miliband brothers. And if George Jnr wants back-up in his dispute with his father, he can call on his friend, Tony Blair.

Almost in unison

Ballot papers will be dropping this week through letter boxes of members of Britain’s second largest trade union, Unison, whose general secretary, Dave Prentis, is standing for re-election to the post he has held for 14 years.

This time, for the first time, there is a woman on the ballot paper – Heather Wakefield, head of Unison’s local government section. Earlier this year, it was thought that Prentis would try to swing Unison behind Andy Burnham in the Labour leadership contest, because of Burnham’s record on the NHS. In that case Wakefield could have outflanked him, as a Corbyn supporter.

In the event, Unison backed Corbyn, leaving little visible political distinction between the two. Wakefield’s pitch now is: “I am proud to be the first woman to stand for general secretary of Unison, and yes, I do believe having a woman at the top is important.”

The company the PM keeps

As David Cameron sets off to renegotiate with the EU, he has some interesting friends out there. Last month, a parliamentary report in Brussels accused Morten Messerschmidt, 34-year-old star of the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party, of “reckless” use of EU funds. More than £92,000 had allegedly been misused to pay off a sacked employee.

That money has since been repaid, and Messerschmidt denies wrongdoing, but a fellow MEP, Rikke Karlsson, was so disturbed by the affair that she resigned from the People’s Party. He has called her a “confused girl”.

Today, they are due to meet for the first time since her resignation. Messerschmidt has a criminal conviction. In 2002 he suggested that rape, violence and forced marriages are products of a racially mixed society. There is also a Finnish MEP, Jussi Halla-aho, who has a criminal conviction for writing that Islam “reveres paedophilia”.

Last year, both were welcomed into the parliamentary grouping, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), created on David Cameron’s personal initiative as a home for Continental friends of the Tories. The more members it has, the more EU cash it attracts. Such is the company Cameron’s MEPs keep.