The press smell money-grubbing by Blair in Kazakhstan, Tony Blair Associates is opening up shop in the capital city Astana. Cherie has been “meeting Kazakh women” on a couple of visits the latest of which, hosted by an investment bank, was “to talk about women and economic development and their role in business”. Charitable humanitarian that she is…

Lakshmi Mittal the billionaire Tony crony who, after Prime Minister Blair lobbied on his behalf with the Romanian government, gave the Labour Party £4 million, has extensive interests in the region. Mittal employs 100,000 Kazakhs in local mines where an average of 30 miners a year die working for him. The Mail reports that a whole gang of Tony’s cronies are circling around the resource rich state; Mandelson’s friend Oleg Deripaska, the Russian oligarch, London-based Israeli Alexander Mashkevich an associate of Lord Levy, Lord Renwick of investment bankers JP Morgan – £2 million-a-year paymasters to Blair – coincidentally all attended an investors meeting addressed by Blair. Even Alastair Campbell is proffering advice on spin to the Kazakhs.

Blair says he isn’t making any moolah from the Kazakhs, yet he is opening an office. Presumably the £2 million a year from JP Morgan is for Blair to open high level doors to opportunities. So Blair is technically not lying, just being disingenuous…