The Trial of Tony Blair

The Trial of Tony Blair is a satirical drama, based around the notion that the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair is to face charges of war crimes by an international tribunal, following his departure from 10 Downing Street. Directed by Simon Cellan-Jones, it was first aired on More4 on 15 January 2007 and repeated on 5 March 2007 and during Blair's last week as Prime Minister on 23 June 2007.

The programme is set in 2010 and stars Robert Lindsay as Tony Blair, Phoebe Nicholls as Cherie Blair, Peter Mullan as Gordon Brown and Alexander Armstrong as David Cameron.

Synopsis

A short time before the 2010 general election, Tony Blair goes on British television and gives a political broadcast, in which he announces his resignation from his position as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The Labour Party, of which Blair is leader, is trailing the Conservative Party, led by David Cameron in the polls. However, within hours of Tony Blair's departure, the Conservative lead shrinks dramatically. When Gordon Brown is elected Labour Party leader, the Labour Party support in the country swells dramatically. Fearing that his "legacy" and his "place in history" are under severe threat, Tony Blair attempts to sabotage the Labour Party efforts to win the General Election, leaking an inflammatory e-mail sent from Brown to Blair in 2006, wherein Brown admits that tax hikes are "inevitable". Blair's plan works, in that Labour win the election with a majority of just two Members of Parliament, smaller than Blair's majority and with David Cameron in a much better position.

Meanwhile, Tony Blair is having problems of his own. He is obsessed with his legacy, but none of the celebrities who fawned over him as Prime Minister will now pay any attention to him. In addition, the American White House ignores him as well, following George Bush's replacement by Democrat Hillary Clinton. Also, he and his wife are having financial problems. Finally, Blair is haunted by disturbing visions of Iraq, especially of dead Iraqi civilians, following British and American action in the 2003 Iraq War, which is still ongoing, and in which British soldiers are still dying regularly (and at a seemingly higher rate). His troubled conscience makes him try to convert to Catholicism, though in repeated visits to church he finds himself unable to confess to any sins. Blair is portrayed as being partly in denial that a world which once hailed him as a great leader has largely turned against him.

To compound his problems, the International Criminal Court is looking to bring war crimes charges against the UK and US leaders in relation to the Iraq War. Now that Tony Blair is no longer Prime Minister, he no longer has diplomatic immunity from prosecution. The United Nations Security Council votes on the decision to bring Tony Blair to court. Ordinarily, this would not have been an issue as the UK, a permanent member of the UNSC, would have been able to veto the resolution. Unfortunately for Blair, under orders from Gordon Brown's assistant, the British UNSC representative is "in the toilet" when the resolution is voted on. The resolution passes, with all other UNSC members (including the United States, under Hillary Clinton, following the "peace path") voting in favour.

Under the stress of events, Blair suffers a recurrence of heart problems, but everybody (including Gordon Brown who visits him in hospital) believes this is play-acting. The programme ends with Tony Blair being flown to his trial in The Hague.

Historical changes for the programme

Several historical events have taken place before the programme begins. These include the following:

• Tony Blair staying in power until 2010. He gave advance notice that he would resign as Prime Minister by mid-2007, and refined this to 27 June on 10 May. This is explained at the beginning of the programme, when Tony Blair announces that because of military action by British, American and Israeli armed forces against Iran followed by suicide bombings in Britain, he needed to remain in power to ensure "stability" in the country.
• Hillary Clinton has won the 2008 presidential election and is now President of the United States. To hold onto her position, she agrees to vote in favour of the UN resolution which sees Tony Blair sent to trial.
• Arnold Schwarzenegger is seen on the photos at the UN building in New York as the latest Secretary-General, following Kofi Annan. Unlike the other two points, this is obviously more for humour than accuracy, as Annan's successor was already known to be Ban Ki-Moon.

Principal characters

Whilst the programme focuses mainly on Tony Blair, people such as David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Cherie Blair and Brian Haw are regularly shown.

• David Cameron is shown as a politician believing in nothing and promoting everything - an accusation made against him by numerous newspapers in the UK.
• Gordon Brown is shown as moody and insecure. He is pressured into allowing the UN resolution to pass.
• Cherie Blair is shown, complete with her career as a QC, and her own legal firm.
• Brian Haw is a minor character, who takes to sitting outside the Blairs' home in Connaught Square, London, shouting "War Criminal" every time Tony or Cherie appear. His camp grows more expansive over the course of the story, with more accusing banners and placards appearing, perhaps symbolizing the rapidly increasing anxiety and pressure that Blair is under.

Although the Blairs have four children in real life, none of the children appear in the programme.

See also

• Cultural depictions of Tony Blair

External links

• Official website
• The Trial of Tony Blair at Channel4.com/More4
• The Trial of Tony Blair Review at Variety.com