Tony Blair is said to be planning to step back from his role as the Middle East peace envoy . Tony Blair is to step back from his role as Middle East peace envoy , it was reported last night . The former Labour leader has been the envoy for the Middle East Quartet peace negotiators – the UN , the EU , Russia and the US – since he quit as Prime Minister in 2007 . But the Financial Times said he was planning to ‘ step back ’ from the job , in a move which could be announced later this week . He is apparently embarking on negotiations to ‘ recast ’ his role while remaining involved in the peace process . It is understood that the former Prime Minister has met John Kerry , the US secretary of state , and Federica Mogherini , the EU ’ s foreign policy chief , to discuss a possible job change . The move follows months of concerns about potential conflicts of interest between Mr Blair ’ s role in peace negotiations in the Middle East and his business pursuits . Sources told the FT that Mr Blair has realised that his peace role is no longer tenable . The move comes amid mounting unease in the US and EU over his poor relations with senior Palestinian Authority figures and sprawling business interests . Senior diplomats told the paper Mr Blair was being eased out of the position . ‘ It is long overdue , ’ said one who had been briefed on the discussions . ‘ He has been ineffective in this job . He has no credibility in this part of the world. ’ Another person close to the Obama administration said : ‘ Tony Blair is neither an asset nor a liability , but his current role is no longer viable. ’ Mr Blair does not disclose any of his clients , but they have included countries such as Peru , Colombia , Kuwait , Vietnam and Kazakhstan . His corporate roster has featured PetroSaudi , an oil company with links to the Saudi royal family , finance firm JPMorgan and Mubadala , an Abu Dhabi wealth fund . A senior western official familiar with the Quartet denied there had been any ‘ effort to push Blair out of his current role ’ . It is understood that any decision would need to be taken by consensus . Mr Blair advises a number of foreign governments , many of which have unpalatable human rights records . Last year , a group of former British ambassadors joined a campaign calling for the ex-Prime Minister to be removed from his role as Middle East envoy , raising objections to the possible clash with his business interests and a attempts to ‘ absolve himself ’ of responsibility for the Iraq crisis . Their letter , written last July , said the former Prime Minister ’ s achievements as Middle East envoy have been negligible and he was guilty of seeking to please the Israelis . The former prime minister was accused by a handful of British ambassadors of trying to please the Israelis . He is pictured above Israel 's Shimon Peres . At the time , a spokesman for Mr Blair said : ‘ These are all people viscerally opposed to Tony Blair with absolutely no credibility in relation to him whatsoever . ‘ He believes passionately in the two-state solution but believes that can only be achieved by a negotiation with Israel. ’ Critics also point out that peace between Israel and Palestine is as far away as ever – and that the situation in Iraq and Syria is only getting worse . A US-led push to revive the Middle East peace process collapsed last year . Mr Kerry has expressed a wish that whatever government is brought to power in the Israeli elections this week will ‘ meet the hope for peace ’ . There was no response from Mr Blair ’ s office last night . Only last month it emerged that Mr Blair is being paid to advise the Serbian prime minister . His private consultancy firm has sealed a contract to set up a ‘ delivery unit ’ paid for by the United Arab Emirates . His critics highlighted links between Abu Dhabi – the UAE ’ s capital – and a controversial Palestinian exile , Mohammed Dahlan , who has made no secret of his desire to become the next Palestinian leader . Abu Dhabi is allegedly bankrolling his campaign to unseat the current president , Mahmoud Abbas .
The former Labour leader has been the envoy since quit as Prime Minister . But he is to step back from the role after months according to sources . The move follows eight years of concerns about potential conflicts of interest .