article_snippet: Past prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were also present.
article_snippet: Past prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown had front row seats in the South Transept, flanked by senior Forces personnel rather than grieving families.
article_snippet: There would, of course, have been louder criticism had Past prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown stayed away.
article_snippet: Tony and Gordon Brown attended the service but left out of a back entrance of St Paul’s to avoid coming face to face with the families of those who died in Afghanistan.
article_snippet: Mr Blair, the prime minister who took Britain to war, and his successor left several minutes before the other guests, escorted by bodyguards to separate BMW saloons.
article_snippet: Relatives had reacted with fury last week when told Mr Blair and Gordon Brown would be among the congregation, with one saying Mr Blair
article_snippet: ‘got blood on Mr Blair hands’.
article_snippet: A spokesman for Mr Blair said A spokesman for Mr Blair had to leave quickly to fly to an economic conference in Egypt.
article_snippet: Quick exit: Former prime ministers Gordon Brown (left) and Tony Blair at Friday's commemoration .