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Tony Blair has cancelled a signing of his memoir A Journey at Piccadilly Waterstones in central London scheduled for this afternoon amid fears of protests.
Blair became worried after eggs and shoes were thrown at him by anti-Iraq war protesters at a Dublin book signing last weekend.
Four men were arrested and charged with public order offences. The former prime minister was keen to note that "protesters get all the publicity", stressing that they were in the minority of the crowd.
Announcing his decision to cancel the London event he said: "I’m concerned that I don’t want to put people through a lot of hassle at this Wednesday’s signing".
Anxiety over today's signing was heightened after the BNP was reported to be planning involvement in protest action. Blair described the metropolitan police as "fabulous" but said he did not want to waste their time and money.
Talking about the book signing, Blair said "it's not as if we need to do it".
Blair has maintained a high media profile since the publication of his memoirs last week, issuing his first policy assault on the coalition in an interview with The Daily Telegraph at the weekend.
He said he "profoundly disagrees" with justice secretary Kenneth Clarke’s approach to law and order.
The justice secretary has questioned the need for short sentences, raising the possibility of a shift in focus to rehabilitation in an effort to save money and space in prisons.
Blair, famous for his "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime" line, commented: "You’ve got to put in prison those who deserve to be there". He suggested Britain could learn from developing countries in its approach to criminal prosecution.
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