: Re: Can i use the name of a real UK Prime Minister in a fictional Novel? I am writing a fictional novel that rewrites history surrounding the Gulf war. It involves at one point the actions of

@Berumen699

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I agree with what others have said, both here and in the above-referenced question (which I reproduce here: writers.stackexchange.com/q/9215/1993). To wit (always wanted to say that), change the person. In your specific case, start your novel with Tony Blair losing the election. Instead, the PM is Snidely Beckinsworth. You can then make Snidely whatever you want -- egotistic, money-grubbing, cowardly, sadistic, stupid, war-mongering, etc. -- and nobody can complain. Snidely is your stand-in for Tony (with cosmetic details changed), but you are covered because your novel already makes clear that Snidely is not Tony. I suppose Mr. Blair could still try to sue for libel, but then he'd have to prove that, despite the internal evidence of your novel, your unflattering PM is obviously him. (But that's self-defeating. If it's obviously him, then it isn't libel.) The free publicity from such a lawsuit would easily pay for a five-quid barrister. Just don't make Snidely exactly like Tony, except that he's a lying jerk, because that WOULD get you into trouble.

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