Blair sets up consultancy - watchdog

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has established a commercial partnership to offer advice to potential clients on economic and political matters, according to a government watchdog.

In a statement on its website, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) noted that Mr Blair had formed "Tony Blair Associates" this month, and said it saw "no reason why he should not set up the firm forthwith".

ACOBA, which discloses paid employment taken by ministers after they leave office, said in a statement that the partnership will "allow him to provide, in partnership with others, strategic advice on both a commercial and pro-bono basis, on political and economic trends and governmental reform."

Blair left office in June 2007 after spending slightly more than 10 years as Britain's prime minister, and has since taken up a variety of paid and unpaid employment.

Most notably, he is an unpaid Middle East envoy for the diplomatic Quartet - the US, UN, EU and Russia - while also chairing a climate change advisory panel and running his charity, the Tony Blair Faith Foundation.

According to the Sunday Times, Mr Blair was paid a €5 million advance for his memoirs, while drawing a €1.9-million salary as a part-time adviser to investment bank JPMorgan Chase, and €1.5 million for advising Zurich Financial Services. He also works on the after-dinner lecture circuit, receives a pension from his time in office, and an allowance to run a private office.