Tony Blair is godfather to Rupert Murdoch’s daughter
The former prime minister was reportedly present in March last year when Murdoch’s two daughters by his third wife, Wendi,Book scanner, were baptised on the banks of the Jordan.
The information was not made public and its disclosure in an interview with Mrs Murdoch in Vogue will prove highly embarrassing for Mr Blair.
His close ties to the Murdochs could explain his reluctance to condemn the News International phone hacking scandal.
In July, it was reported that he asked Gordon Brown to put pressure on Tom Watson, the Labour MP who helped expose the scandal, to drop his investigation.
Mr Blair’s spokesman categorically denied the allegation.
When the baptism was splashed across the pages of Hello! magazine last year, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, her fellow Australian actor, were named as godparents to Grace, nine, and Chloe, eight.
No mention was made of Mr Blair’s role as a godfather to Grace and he did not appear in pictures of the ceremony, which took place at the spot where it is said that Jesus was baptised.
However, the facts emerged in an interview with Mrs Murdoch in the fashion magazine.
She made international headlines in July by jumping to the defence of her 80-year-old husband when he was attacked with a “foam pie” while giving evidence to a parliamentary committee on hacking.