Obama to meet with Blair before Brown

LONDON, July 23 (UPI) -- U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama has ruffled feathers in London by planning to see former Prime Minister Tony Blair before his successor, observers say.

The Telegraph reported Wednesday that Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, will fly to England Friday for a meeting with Blair to discuss the Middle East and global climate change.

The following day, Obama will meet with Prime Minister Gordon Brown at Downing Street. The Illinois senator has reportedly declined to take part in a televised press conference with the prime minister.

Privately, government officials are dismayed that Blair has upstaged his successor since Brown advisers were hoping to present the prime minister alongside Obama, who is wildly popular in Europe, the newspaper said.

"Obama is showing that the political messages and methods of the 1990s now look very tired," said David Lammy, a government minister and friend of Obama.