TONY BLAIR is under pressure to account for his conduct after it emerged that he singled out Sir Cliff Richard’s campaign to change copyright laws as a priority for reform.
Richard, who has given Blair and his family free use of his £3m Barbados villa for the past three years, has been lobbying the government to extend the period for which he can earn royalties on his work from the current 50 years. The Sunday Times has obtained a written record of an internal Labour meeting at which the prime minister sets out his priorities. At the meeting of the national executive committee on July 19 last year Blair said that despite the “dominating global headlines” and recent terror attacks, Labour must not lose sight of the domestic agenda. In the midst of such high-profile issues as the liberalisation of the Post Office and public apathy to elections, Blair “addressed concerns” about copyright laws “whereby Cliff Richard and the Rolling Stones only receive 50 years’ protection compared with 70 years in the rest of Europe”, according to one member’s detailed written record. Richard, 65, who had his first hit in 1958 with Move It, began his campaign three years ago and is one of the first artists who would benefit from a change in the law. The Blairs began spending their summer holidays at his Barbados home in 2003. The singer, whose wealth is put at £40m by The Sunday Times Rich List book, has described copyright payments as a “pension” for musicians and said: “Every three months from the beginning of 2008, I will lose a song.” Two of those present at the Labour meeting say Blair indicated he would support an increase in the copyright term to 70 years and expressed surprise that the prime minister seemed well informed about the issue. Last December the government appointed Andrew Gowers, the former editor of the Financial Times, to review copyright laws. His terms of reference included examining “whether the current 50-year term of protection on sound recordings is appropriate.” Gowers is due to make recommendations shortly, and senior music industry executives are confident he will back an increase in the copyright term. Labour’s last manifesto, drawn up by Blair and senior party colleagues for the 2005 general election, has already pledged reform. Blair and his family have enjoyed the use of Richard’s colonial-style mansion for up to three weeks at a time during their summer stays at the villa, which has six bedrooms, a tennis court and a pool. | 
