Tony Blair says he recognises stories of Westminster sexual harassment: 'It wasn't something I was part of'

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Tony Blair has told how he recognises some of the descriptions of abuse in Westminster but said “it wasn’t something I got involved in”.

The former Prime Minister insisted a “necessary change” in culture would happen, following the accusations of sexual harassment at government level.

Mr Blair said he had been a family man during his time in Parliament but appeared to acknowledge he had some awareness about the behaviour of other MPs.

He told BuzzFeed News: “It’s a necessary change in culture that’s going to come about.

“I was never part of it, I was living in London and had a family.

“I recognise some of the descriptions, let’s say, but it wasn’t something I got involved in.”

Mr Blair also appeared to take a swipe at Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan over his decision to ban Uber in London.

He said: “There are a lot of people employed as Uber drivers who want to be Uber drivers.

“The question is how do you make sure that they’re treated properly?

“The answer is not to ban Uber. The answer is to regulate it sensibly.

“You can see this with all the major companies, when they’re changing society in very profound ways, the question is how do you keep the advantages people want, in the case of Uber there are people who feel this is important employment for them and gives them flexibility, but how do you make sure they’re not exploited?”

The long-time critic of Jeremy Corbyn said the Labour leader’s policies were “not progressive”.

“I think the problem with Corbyn’s policies is they’re not progressive because they’re believing that, for instance, the big challenge in transport is to nationalise the railways. It isn’t... The big challenge in education is to get rid of tuition fees. It isn’t,” he said.

PA