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A party to mark publication of Tony Blair's memoir A Journey, planned for this evening (Wednesday 8th September) at Tate Modern, has been "postponed", publisher Random House has confirmed.
Guests were informed of the cancellation yesterday. Cornerstone publicity director said the event was "postponed because he [Blair] did not want to put guests through the unpleasant consequences of the actions of demonstrators on what should have been an enjoyable evening for friends and family".
Speaking on ITV's "This Morning" today, Blair said: "It is sad in a way because you should have the right to sign books or see your friends if you want to. But it was going to cause so much hassle. The people at the party tonight are friends - and some of them are not political at all. I don't mind going through protesters - I have lived with that all my political life. But for other people it can be a bit unpleasant and frightening." The party would go ahead at some stage as a thank-you to the people who had helped produce the memoir, he said.
It is the second event to be curtailed following threatened protests, organised by the Stop the War coalition. A signing event at Waterstone's in Piccadilly, planned for today, was cancelled by the former prime minister earlier in the week.
Stop the War protestors, who helped stage demonstrations last weekend outside a Blair book signing in Dublin, had vowed to protest outside the event. A spokesperson for the Stop the War coalition said of the cancellation: "We're very pleased. We don't think it's appropriate for a cultural institution to host the party for a person who is essentially a war criminal who has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people."
Despite the strong feeling the book has been a runaway success since publication last week, having the biggest opening week for non-fiction hardback book since Nielsen BookScan records began.