U.K. Blair Delays Election Announcement to Honor Pope John Paul

[emad]

April 3 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair will tomorrow attend a service in London honoring Pope John Paul II instead of asking Queen Elizabeth II to dissolve Parliament for the next general election.

``He will be attending a vespers service in the afternoon,'' according to a statement from Blair's office in London. ``He will not be going to Buckingham Palace'' to see the Queen.

The decision quashes speculation that Blair would name the date of the next election tomorrow. The statement didn't discuss when Blair would make the announcement or what engagements he planned for later in the week.

``The world has lost a religious leader who was revered across people of all faiths and none,'' Blair said in a statement to the British Broadcasting Corp. from his weekend home at Chequers, outside London. ``He was an inspiration, a man of extraordinary faith, dignity and courage.''

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=aomI4LZH6MN4&refer=uk

[Benhurst]

1. Lucky Tony. A little more time to rethink the campaign. NT

[gbarford]

2. It is only likely going to be a 24 hour delay

It is expected that Blair will now announce the election on Tuesday.