Blair happy to keep guitar from Bono – but not one from Mexico's president
He did, however, question whether he would have to pay 'the full purchase price'.
Tony Blair with Mexican president Vicente Fox (PA)
No 10 officials suggested the prime minister, who fronted a rock band called Ugly Rumours in his student days, might want to take the same approach when it came to a white Fender Stratocaster, valued at £2,500, from the Canadian singer Bryan Adams.
However, Mr Blair was much less enthusiastic about an acoustic Vargas guitar presented to him by President Vicente Fox during an official visit to Mexico in 2001, noting: 'I don't actually use it.'
The files also show that Mr Blair rejected advice that he should not keep a Pro Braided tennis racket given to him by the manufacturer, Slazenger.
Officials feared that it was part of a 'marketing ploy' by the company and suggested it should be donated to a children's charity as 'you cannot be seen to endorse any product'.
Mr Blair, however, instructed them just to thank the company, adding: 'It is very churlish to refuse to use it.'
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Scottish Sun
8 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
I probe the minds of evil killers… infamous cat slayer signed his letters with sick moniker & lives in cloud cuckoo land
True crime expert Teemu Saarenpää admits Magnotta was not the most evil person he became pen pals with BEHIND BARS I probe the minds of evil killers… infamous cat slayer signed his letters with sick moniker & lives in cloud cuckoo land HE'S the psychopathic killer who filmed himself feeding a live kitten to a python and suffocating another in a plastic bag in a chilling bid for internet notoriety. But the sickening videos were a prelude to monstrous Luka Magnotta's final act - stabbing a lover to death, chopping up his body and posting out the severed body parts to schools and politicians. Advertisement 13 Luka Magnotta, a model and porn actor, was dubbed the 'Canadian Psycho' Credit: AFP 13 Jun Lin was violently murdered by Luka Magnotta in 2012 Credit: Rex Features 13 Magnotta used a python and other cruel methods to kill kittens in videos he posted online Credit: Collect Yet the Canadian, now 42, who was jailed for 25 years in 2014 for murdering Chinese university student Jun Lin, 33, remains remorseless according to true crime expert Teemu Saarenpää. After exchanging letters with Magnotta, real name Eric Newman, he believes the 'extremely ego-centric' killer 'lives in la la land' and remains in denial that he committed any wrongdoing. Advertisement Teemu, 41, who runs blog Forenseek, tells The Sun: 'He lives in a totally upside-down, candy land world where he believes he's accused of something he didn't do. 'He's in denial, doesn't take responsibility for what he did and portrays himself as someone misunderstood by an evil society that set him up. 'He was unreflective of his deeds and is clearly a wannabe celebrity who wanted to be famous and a glamorous god. 'Because he wasn't able to obtain that fame through any real talent, he decided to become infamous instead.' Magnotta, who was the subject of hit 2019 Netflix docuseries Don't F*** With Cats, is one of many monsters Teemu has been able to see inside the mind of by writing letters to them in prison. Advertisement Other notable inmates he's probed include Charles Bronson, who made a distasteful quip about hostage-taking, and 'Night Stalker' serial killer Richard Ramirez, who was the 'most evil person' he's spoken to. Speaking to The Sun for our Meeting a Monster series, Teemu admits he was particularly surprised by Magnotta's absolute refusal to acknowledge his callous crimes. In one letter Magnotta, known as 'Canadian Pyscho', refuted claims he was an animal killer - despite being captured on film - and brushed it off as jealous rivals who were 'very good with Photoshop'. Pathetic last days of Rose West revealed as serial killer monster can barely walk, has no friends & has new fake identity 13 Police say Magnotta had up to 80 aliases online Credit: Collect 13 Magnotta had aspirations of being a model Advertisement 13 A dead dog along with other incriminating things were found near to Magnotta's flat Credit: Splash News 13 The Canadian stabbed his lover Jun Lin to death with a screwdriver after tying him to a bed Credit: AP:Associated Press Among the incriminating clips was '1 Boy 2 Kittens', which showed him putting the animals into a plastic bag before using a vacuum to suffocate them. Yet Magnotta told Teemu: 'I never in my life harmed any animals – I actually adore them… I was falsely accused of willingly participating in some bizarre animal videos. I'm completely bewildered.' Chillingly, he also signed off his letter: 'Luka, aka cuddle cat'. Advertisement Magnotta snubbed doctors, who diagnosed him as schizophrenic, claiming they were 'self-serving' and created 'misleading reports'. One medical professional, he alleged, was 'obsessed with making a name for himself' - when in fact, according to Teemu, it was Magnotta who possessed a 'desperate obsession with getting a personality cult on the internet'. Magnotta, who says he has a 132 IQ score, also denied having created multiple online aliases - despite police reporting as many as 80 existed - claiming it to be the work of deranged fans. I never in my life harmed any animals – I actually adore them… I was falsely accused of willingly participating in some bizarre animal videos. I'm completely bewildered Luka Magnotta in a letter to Teemu Saarenpää 'If these idiots copied photos of me and impersonated me online, that's on them, that's their problem… I'm told people posing as me is an epidemic online,' he told Teemu, who's from Finland. 'I find it so pathetic and have always ignored it. I never, I repeat NEVER had any fake accounts, nor did I ever pose as anyone other than myself.' Advertisement When Magnotta was snared for murdering Jun Lin, cops discovered an 11-minute snuff film titled '1 Lunatic 1 Icepick', which showed him repeatedly stabbing his victim with a screwdriver and dismembering him. Sickeningly they revealed the killer used one of Lin's body parts to perform a sex act, then carved up his body with a knife and fork and fed bits of it to a dog. Teemu considered Luka deluded, describing him as 'in his own munchkin world' - unlike his other killer pen pal Richard Ramirez, who 'was aware he was evil and didn't give a s***'. 'The most evil person I've written to' 13 Monster Richard Ramirez murdered at least 14 people in the 80s 13 Ramirez was known as 'The Night Stalker' killer Credit: Netflix Advertisement 13 Ramirez proudly flashed a pentagram he had drawn on his hand in court Credit: Getty - Contributor The monster, dubbed 'the Night Stalker', murdered at least 14 people and raped multiple women at knife-point, often in front of their partners and children. Teemu wrote to Ramirez, who plagued California during the Eighties, in a bid to understand how someone 'so tangibly evil' thought. 'He was definitely the most evil person I've written to,' Teemu says. 'Ramirez embraced being as depraved, as horrible, as deplorable as a human being could be. 'He was a Satanist. He embraced everything evil and spoke about worshipping the Devil, who he believed to be a real entity. 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It made me realise there is no 'killer gene' or anything categorically different in the brains of killers to the rest of the public, which I found really intriguing.' The revelation set him on a path to try to get inside the minds of famous killers, initially through reading books and watching documentaries, before deciding to write to them. 'I find the dark side of human life, full of stories so different from my lived reality, so fascinating,' Teemu says. 'I'm a normal, middle class dude, a bit like Milhouse from The Simpsons, so finding out about these people is like looking into the inverse mirror. Advertisement 'It makes me think how my life could have been if I was born in a warzone, watched people die, gone through a traumatic childhood or lived in an abusive family.' 'Violent psychopath' 13 Charles Bronson wasn't as intimidating in letters, as Teemu predicted 13 Bronson sent Teemu a painted postcard Credit: Supplied Teemu also exchanged letters with Charles Bronson, who he says came across like a 'jolly British bloke' and acted like 'someone you'd meet in a pub after an Arsenal match'. He wrote to the crook because he found his 'totally relentless one-man war against the authorities' fascinating. Advertisement 'If you told him, 'You can turn right to gold and chocolate and left to hell', he would turn to hell and refuse to obey, even if the decision did not help him,' Teemu says. Bronson sent Teemu a piece of artwork depicting himself topless on a beach musing about no longer being in prison. It featured the Latin phrase 'Candor dat viribus alas', which translates to 'Candour gives wings to strength', and the sketch of a book titled 'Freedom is Wonderful by Charles Bronson'. 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Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Netflix fans say don't skip 'most underrated film' as it will 'change your life'
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Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Daily Mirror
Justin Bieber marks incredible milestone after months of 'marriage woes' and fan concern
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