The Blairs and the Murdochs: a special relationship Mr Blair said of Murdoch: "He was hard, no doubt. He was rightwing. I did not share or like his attitudes on Europe, social policy or on issues like gay rights, but there were two points of connection: he was an outsider and he had balls. In 1997 the daily tabloid announced: "The Sun Backs Blair - give chance a chance." In 2005, ahead of Gordon Brown's election bid, it swung back to the Tories, saying: "Labour's Lost It." Mr Blair would address the annual gathering in California again in 2006. During his time in office Mr Blair did little to change the regulation of newspapers or BSkyB. The News International titles supported the war in Iraq, and former Number 10 staff credit Murdoch for discouraging Blair from holding a referendum on euro entry. I think if there hadn't been Murdoch there, he would have felt braver and more able to follow his instincts. It was certainly under consideration for early in the second term. The fact that there wasn't one is a credit to Rupert Murdoch rather than to anyone else," recalled Lance Prince, a former Blair press secretary. Alastair Campbell, Mr Blair's press secretary, attended News International chief executive Rebekah Wade's wedding to Charlie Brooks - as did David Cameron and Mr Murdoch. Rebekah Brooks is a friend of both Tony and Cherie Blair He later defended the relationship. For any political leader who's been operating in Britain in the last 30 or 40 years, the power of the media is such that you can't but have a relationship with people who are major and powerful media people. By the way, that's not limited to News International. There's this slight sense in the UK where it's all about Rupert Murdoch and News International. That's true of any of the major media outlets.