Tony Blair has taken a lucrative job with a U.S. bank which is profiting from the Iraq war. JP Morgan is expected to pay him £1million a year as a part-time adviser.
It is the first of a series of posts that could see the former prime minister rake in a staggering £40million.The move brought fierce criticism last night. Reg Keys, whose soldier son Tom was killed in Iraq in 2003, said it was "almost akin to taking blood money".
He added: "If he had a conscience or any sensitivity, he would not have taken this job".
Tory defence spokesman Gerald Howarth said: "It will be viewed with some contempt by the armed forces that he picks up this large cheque when he was happy to send British troops into battle ill-equipped and in insufficient numbers."
JP Morgan is heading a consortium set to make billions as Iraq's economy recovers from the war spearheaded by Mr Blair and U.S. President George Bush. (Daily Mail)