Quartet Envoy Tony Blair
Quartet Envoy Tony BlairFlash 90

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair got millions from the United Arab Emirates while serving as the Quartet envoy for Middle East Peace, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

Blair took up the post as Quartet envoy to the Middle East soon after resigning as United Kingdom Prime Minister in 2007, holding the job for 8 years until leaving in 2015. The Quartet is a group established in 2002 to mediate Israeli-Palestinian peace, and comprises the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia.

According to the report, Blair was getting paid million from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for consulting work while at the same time working as mediating between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). The UAE also paid Blair for expenses that occurred as part of his role as envoy. As the UAE is hostile to Israel, the expose raises conflict of interest questions.

A spokesperson for Tony Blair confirmed the charges, telling the Sunday Telegraph that "The UAE contributed to the costs of Mr. Blair and his London-based staff for the work he and they did for the Quartet role."

Blair has faced conflict of interest charges in the past relating to his role as Quartet envoy. In 2011, he successfully lobbied the Israeli government to turn over bandwidth to Arab cellular provide Watania, arguing that such economic measures were crucial for developing the Palestinian economy. Blair did not reveal that Watania was a major client of JP Morgan Chase Bank, where Blair worked as a senior adviser.

Blair claimed that he was unaware that Watania had been involved with JP Morgan Chase.

Reports had surfaced in May that Blair had contacts with U.S. President Donald Trump about the possibility of Blair becoming his Middle East adviser, reports which he denied.