LONDON: Tony Blair has had no discussions about working for US President Donald Trump, his spokesman said Sunday after reports that the former British prime minister sought to become his Middle East adviser.
According to The Mail on Sunday newspaper, Blair met with Trump鈥檚 son-in-law and key aide Jared Kushner last week to discuss taking a role with Trump.
The weekly tabloid said Blair had met Kushner three times since September.
A spokesman for Blair initially said: 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to comment on private conversations.鈥� But a statement on his website later said: 鈥淭he story in The Mail on Sunday is an invention.
鈥淢r Blair has made no such 鈥榩itch鈥� to be the president鈥檚 Middle East envoy. Neither has he had any discussions about taking such a role or any role working for the new president.鈥�
It continued: 鈥淗e has been working on the peace process for 10 years. He continues to do so. He does so in a private capacity. He will continue to do it in that way.鈥�
After leaving office in 2007, Blair was the envoy of the Middle East Quartet until 2015.
The group comprises the EU, Russia, the UN and the US.
Blair was prime minister from 1997 to 2007, winning three general elections but his role in leading Britain into the war in Iraq has badly damaged his legacy at home.
However, he has been making more interventions in British politics since leaving his Middle East role.
Last month, he urged Britons who support the EU to 鈥渞ise up鈥� and persuade Brexit voters to change their mind about leaving the bloc, in a high-profile speech.
Blair wrote an article in The New York Times newspaper on Friday where he called for a centrist new coalition that is 鈥減opular, not populist,鈥� in order for liberal democracy to survive and thrive in the face of rightist populism.