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Such are the quirks and foibles of the super-rich that even outwardly simple occasions, such as the celebration of a 60th birthday, can turn into rather complicated productions. Take Cherie Blair’s arrangements to mark her husband Tony’s 60th earlier this month. Knowing how keen he is to stave off the advancing years, she hired an Italian-based ‘detox chef’ to prepare an unimpeachably healthy dinner for the group of family and friends she flew to Europe to mark the event. Then, she engaged the same chef to rustle up another menu of plain, if pricey, offerings for a dozen guests at...

Cherie Blair was criticised today after she spared a violent offender jail because he is “a religious man”. Shamso Miah, 25, broke a man's jaw following a row in East Ham. Mrs Blair, the wife of ex-prime minister Tony Blair, was sitting as a judge at Inner London crown court and sentenced him to six months in jail, suspended for two years. She said: “I am going to suspend this sentence based on the fact you are a religious person and have not been in trouble before. You are a religious man and you know this is not acceptable behaviour.”...

Cherie Blair has revealed an unexpected upside to leaving Downing Street – her figure doesn’t get compared with that of Carla Bruni. Speaking of French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s wife, who was famously photographed from behind on the steps of a Spanish palace in April, Mrs Blair said: ‘I am very happy to not have been in Downing Street when Carla Bruni came on an official visit.

Monday March 2, 2009 Cherie Blair Says Catholic Church Sexist, Credits Personal Success to Contraception By Hilary White and John JalsevacLONDON, March 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Church "marginalizes" women and keeps them "virtually invisible" in its public face, says Cherie Blair. Speaking on a BBC television program, the wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair said that "ambivalence" towards women is a "fundamental weakness" of Christianity and of Catholicism in particular. The controversial remarks were made during the final installment of a documentary, Christianity, that was aired on BBC's Channel 4 on Sunday night. During a section of...

The Blairs’ hearts sank when they learnt that George Bush’s victory over Al Gore in 2000 had been ratified and that he was to become President of the United States, Cherie Blair reveals in The Times today. She tells how she and her husband watched Mr Bush on television and were concerned at his poor grasp of foreign affairs, but Mr Blair was determined to have a strong relationship with the Republican President. Although they had initial reservations about his political leanings she and her husband learnt to appreciate “a very funny, charming man with a quirky sense of humour”....

The Blairs’ hearts sank when they learnt that George Bush’s victory over Al Gore in 2000 had been ratified and that he was to become President of the United States, Cherie Blair reveals in The Times today. She tells how she and her husband watched Mr Bush on television and were concerned at his poor grasp of foreign affairs, but Mr Blair was determined to have a strong relationship with the Republican President. Although they had initial reservations about his political leanings she and her husband learnt to appreciate “a very funny, charming man with a quirky sense of humour”....

The fact that you already have several holes in your head doesn't mean you want another one. Imagine being Gordon Brown this weekend. You are still reeling from disastrous local election results and the loss of London to Boris Johnson. You trail a record 26 points behind David Cameron in the polls. Rebellion surges through your party's ranks: in Westminster, over the abolition of the 10p tax rate; in Scotland, over the proposed referendum on independence. Senior Labour figures say that there will be trouble - meaning a leadership challenge - if the party does not make serious progress by...

<p>British Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife posed naked for the artist Euan Uglow when she was an unknown lawyer-in-training in her mid-20s.</p> <p>For more than a year Cherie Booth earned £5 an hour modeling for the 5-foot painting "Striding Nude, Blue Dress," wearing a sleeveless dress open at the front. She was required to stand still for up to an hour at a time in Uglow’s freezing studios in Clapham, South London. The artist later painted a second version with another model.</p>

The Prime Minister's wife took her revenge on a profession that has bedevilled her for years when invited to address students at Roehampton University on Wednesday. She told a stunned audience that it was "not a noble calling" and journalists "have no ethics". Cherie Blair has launched an extraordinary ...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: The President's vacation in Crawford ended today with his arrival back at the White House. He was accompanied by his two Scotties, but not the First Lady. She stayed on at the ranch another day before resuming her busy schedule campaigning for Republican candidates. Mrs. Bush will attend a Peter Roskam for Congress luncheon in Chicago tomorrow before flying to St. Louis where she will attend a Republican reception at a private residence. The event is closed to the press. Throughout the week, the First Lady will be stumping for Republican candidates in Kentucky, Ohio...

_ Tuesday, the President will participate in a National Security Council and Homeland Security Council briefing at the National Counterterrorism Center in McLean, Virginia. He will have a meeting with the counterterrorism team, attend lunch with the counterterrorism and homeland security teams, and also meet separately with the homeland security team. According to White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, these are long-scheduled meetings, and are not a reaction to the recently discovered plot to blow up flights between Britain and the United States. However, the investigation will be part of their discussion. _ Wednesday, the President will travel to York,...

Cherie Blair provoked surprise in the Vatican and the ire of a Roman Catholic MP yesterday by wearing all-white to meet the Pope, a privilege normally reserved for Catholic Queens.The Vatican convention is that females meeting the Pontiff should wear black, preferably with a black veil, or mantilla.   Cherie Blair with Pope Benedict When the Queen met Pope John Paul II six years ago, she observed the code meticulously.Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, wore black, but omitted the veil.By contrast, Mrs Blair, a staunch Catholic, chose to exercise the "privilege du blanc", usually granted only to the wives...

Cherie Blair says parenthood influenced her return to Catholic faith LONDON (CNS) -- The wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair said being a parent helped her return to her Catholic faith. In her most candid public reflection on her religious beliefs, Cherie Blair described herself as a feminist with an "enduring soft spot for the Virgin Mary." "She, for me, is an important part of Catholicism, because I passionately believe there is no more important role in life than motherhood," Blair said in The Independent newspaper June 5. "I admire her self-sacrifice, her ability to accept God's will and...

Cherie Blair opened her controversial Australasian speaking tour last night with a spectacular gaffe, forgetting which country she was in. The Prime Minister's wife, despite charging a reported £125,000 for her six-date tour of the two countries, then made the same mistake again. Despite the presence of several local journalists, the organiser of the event, the Sydney-based PR guru Max Markson, personally stepped in to escort all British press from the building. "There are no media allowed in," he said. "There's nothing I can do. I am following instructions." she struggled to live up to her superstar billing, according to...

Cherie Blair has renewed her attack on America's use of the death penalty. In a book review in the Catholic journal The Tablet, under her maiden name Cherie Booth, she says: "Capital cases are uniquely prone to error and thus call into question whether we can ever be really sure of obtaining the just result. "The reality is that too many people - innocent people - are executed for the system to be able to claim a just precision." The newspaper asked Mrs Blair, a Catholic, to review Ultimate Punishment, a book by Scott Turow, the American lawyer and novelist....

January 24, 2004 2001: the visit when Cherie Blair put her views on execution Cherie said Bush 'stole' power and tackled him on executions By Nicholas Wapshott in New York, Philip Webster and David Charter TONY BLAIR has been embarrassed by his wife’s displays of open animosity towards President Bush, according to a forthcoming biography of the Prime Minister. Cherie Blair is said to have made no secret of her conviction that Mr Bush “stole” the presidential election, and picked an argument with him over the death penalty during a private dinner. Although the Prime Minister was pragmatic about...

The President had a busy day in London today, with a visit with Laura to Westminster Abbey, and a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, a meeting at 10 Downing Street with Tony and Cherie Blair, a joint press conference with the two strongest leaders in the world, and a visit to a London school for a Shakespearian production by the children for the First Ladies, and a tour of the Faberge items at the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace. There are more than a hundred photos out there today, and even with culling a bit,...

PRESIDENT George W Bush had his feet up at Buckingham Palace last night at the start of his historic state visit to Britain. The Texan, who likes to wear cowboy boots, jetted into Heathrow to be met by Prince Charles. And after a warm ‘Howdy’ he was whisked by helicopter to the Palace. Air Force One landed at 7.25pm at an airport that had been turned into a fortress. As the blue, white and silver Boeing 747 taxied to the airport’s VIP suite, dozens of uniformed police, many armed with machine guns, patrolled the area. They were accompanied by scores...

'Clap - Or She'll Get Stroppy'Cherie Blair left a group of Chinese university students bemused when she grabbed the microphone and belted out a very original version of The Beatles' classic When I'm Sixty-Four.

LONDON: The wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair is the person Britons most want kicked out of the country after her links to a convicted conman were exposed in the recent Cheriegate affair, according to a poll on Wednesday. In a tongue-in-cheek BBC survey drawing 15,000 votes, Cherie Blair topped the hall of shame with 31 per cent after damaging revelations last month about her property dealings with a convicted fraudster dominated headlines and embarrassed the government. Cherie Blair, a high profile barrister, saw her public support tumble in December as the media focused relentlessly on details of how Peter...