1f approved, Blair would head a secretariat of up to 25 people and chair a seven-person board to oversee an executive body running the territory. But any role for the former Labour leader would inevitably prompt intense controversy. After stepping down as prime minister in 2007, he took on the role of Middle East envoy until 2015 and he enjoys a high standing with many Gulf leaders. But Blair is bitterly resented by many Palestinians - who see him as having impeded their efforts to attain statehood - and more broadly across the region for his role in backing the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.