Blair ... emotional
By JOHN SCOTT
December 02, 2006
TONY Blair made a top secret visit to the SAS — on the day the body of a hero sergeant killed in Iraq was flown home.
The PM was close to tears during an unscripted speech to the Who Dares Wins soldiers after flying by helicopter to their HQ in Hereford.
He later met the widows of SAS men killed in action.
Earlier on Thursday, an honour guard met the coffin of Sergeant Jonathan Hollingsworth.
Sgt Hollingsworth was shot dead while storming insurgents in Basra.
An insider said of Mr Blair: “Fair play to the bloke — he had bottle meeting us on a day like that. We could have been hostile, bearing in mind the lads we have lost.
“But the ice broke as a trooper shouted, ‘Speak up, mate. We can’t hear you back here.’
“Mr Blair told us, ‘It is my job to take tough decisions. You carry them out. For that I give you my utmost thanks.’
“He was quite emotional. His voice was trembling and his bottom lip was quivering.”
Another who heard the address said: “It was inspirational. His thanks seemed very genuine and the timing was poignant.”
Earlier the PM had stopped off at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham to visit soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
thesun.co.uk