Leaked email: -

Save the Children trying to "contain" damage from Tony Blair award

Received this today.

Dear Tim

Thank you for contacting us and sharing your views regarding Save the
Children's award to Tony Blair, we are very sorry to hear how upset
you are.  We know that you are not alone in the way that you feel as
we’ve heard back from a number of other supporters expressing similar
feeling. Your feedback is very important to us, and is passed on
immediately to the relevant people at Save the Children. We always
consider feedback from supporters like you when planning our future
actions.

Whilst I understand you have a strong objection to Mr Blair being
given this award, we would like to clarify exactly how it came
about. The award was made by Save the Children US - not Save UK, and
Save UK had no direct input into the decision or the award. I also
want to make it clear that this is not a decision Save UK would have
taken. He received the award specifically for his work on poverty
whilst he was Prime Minister.  During his time in this role he led the
G8 nations at Gleneagles to agree a doubling of aid to Africa, debt
cancellation and universal access to Aids treatment.  These
commitments enabled poor countries to accelerate progress towards the
United Nations Millennium Development Goals and further efforts toward
reducing the numbers of mothers and children worldwide who die each
year from treatable causes such as pneumonia, malaria and new born
complications.

Mr Blair remains a very controversial and divisive figure, but perhaps
less so in the US than in the UK, where opinions on his political
decisions differ. Whilst we are a single organisation, different parts
of Save the Children are free to make their own choices and Save the
Children US chose, with this award, to acknowledge some of the good
they see Mr Blair as having done. That said, whilst acknowledging him
for this specific work, Save the Children US does not in any way wish
to be seen as endorsing Tony Blair in all areas of his work.

We are very sorry that you have been angered by this decision, and
hope you won't lose faith in the good that Save the Children as a
whole still does in the world every day.

Please believe that we take what you have to say seriously, and we
will communicate the response of our supporters to Save US. In the
meantime, please contact us with any further comments about the
actions of Save the Children.

With best wishes

The Supporter Care Team
Save the Children