Thursday 19th March 1998

The signs all was not well in Tony Blair’s administration surfaced when he admitted to breaking House of Commons rules by failing to declare a £1500 “freebie” from Bernie Ecclestone. He accepted a rebuke from watchdog Sir Gordon Downey because all hospitality worth more than £215 must be registered in the House. Blair, who took his wife and their children to the £300-a-head British Grand Prix at Silverstone, vowed not to break the rules again.