Tony Blair intervened as Britain's prime minister to get an exemption from a ban on tobacco advertising at sporting events for Formula One, a British newspaper reported Sunday.
Citing documents obtained through freedom of information requests, The Sunday Telegraph reported that hours after meeting Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone, Blair sought the exemption.
Blair, who served as Britain's prime minister for 10 years, has said the 1997 meeting with Ecclestone _ a governing Labour Party donor _ did not influence the government's decision to seek the exemption.
But the newly disclosed documents _ briefing notes drafted by government staffers _ indicate otherwise, according to the Telegraph.
Blair's government have insisted that the decision to exempt Formula One was not made by him right after his meeting with Ecclestone on Oct. 16, 1997. Instead, government officials have said it was a joint decision made with the Department of Health at a later date.
However, The Sunday Telegraph said the newly released documents indicate that within hours of the meeting, Blair instructed his chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, to inform Tessa Jowell, then the public health minister, of his support for an exemption.
The following day, Jowell was informed in writing by 10 Downing St. that "the prime minister would like your ministers to look for ways of finding a permanent derogation for sport in particular, F1," the newspaper reported. The revelations are contained in briefing notes drafted by officials who worked for Jowell, according to the newspaper.
A spokesman for Blair told The Sunday Telegraph there was nothing new in the story.
A call to a Blair spokesman by The Associated Press was not immediately returned Sunday.
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