Tony Blair has hired a new spin doctor so he can “re-engage” with British politics.
The former prime minister “has things to say” and believes the time is right for him to make an impact on the home front after years in political exile.
Mr Blair will appear on a joint platform with Labour leader Ed Miliband in July at an event to celebrate the Olympics.
His wife Cherie is also due to attend, making it a rare public outing for the Blairs together.
But the move to hire a public relations expert is proof that Mr Blair wants to be heard on a range of subjects.
He has recruited Rachel Grant, an ex-Downing Street and Whitehall press officer who is now communications director at charity the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta).
The former PM is still employed as a Middle East peace envoy, as well as running a faith foundation and earning millions of pounds in consultancy fees through a complicated web of companies.
But for several months he has been privately meeting small groups of Labour MPs to discuss domestic politics.
Mr Blair has targeted old allies and members of the 2010 intake, advising on how to target the Tories and the Liberal Democrats, who he believes made a historic error by joining the Coalition.
Mr Miliband’s aides say the pair now talk “regularly” - code for chats every few weeks - about domestic politics and foreign affairs.
Mr Blair’s aides think the time is right for him to speak out in the UK. They believe enough time has passed since he was driven from office in 2007 on a wave of disgust at the Iraq War.
A source close to Mr Blair said: “He wants to re-engage in the UK. He has things to say and he thinks it’s the right time.
“The question is how he re-enters the UK scene without re-entering domestic politics and interfering with the Labour Party. He wants to intervene where he can add value to political debate, but it will be above party politics.”
Mr Miliband opposed the war in Iraq but respects Mr Blair as one of the most accomplished political message-makers of his time.
Rachel Grant will take up her role later this month, overseeing the former prime minister’s personal public relations and taking charge of the communications strategy for his extensive business operations.
Her appointment has been seen in the PR industry as an attempt to rebuild Mr Blair’s reputation at home, following adverse publicity over his money-spinning ventures.
He has attracted criticism for combining his business interests with charitable work and his Middle East role and is thought to have amassed a fortune in excess of £20 million in the five years since he left Downing Street and stepped down as MP for Sedgefield, County Durham, which he had served since 1983.
Miss Grant previously worked in No10 as a senior press officer, going on to be head of news at the Department for Work and Pensions and then the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Former Tory Cabinet minister Lord Tebbit attacked the former PM, branding his political legacy “debt, war, ignorance, welfare dependency, social division”.
He said: “Blairite education policies have brought about an upsurge in illiteracy and innumeracy, and left a generation of near-unemployable young people.”
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