Cherie Blair surprised by book criticism

May 20 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

FORMER Prime Minister’s wife Cherie Blair has revealed for the first time her feelings about the hostile reaction and torrent of personal criticism following the publication of her book, Speaking For Myself.

In the week following serialisation of the book, and its publication last Thursday, there has been a storm of criticism over the personal details about her love life, children and her revelations about life at No 10.

She was also called on to resign from her post as a recorder or part-time judge by a leading judge, Gerald Butler QC, because he claimed her controversial book had brought the legal profession into "disrepute".

Yesterday, she told the Press Association: "Personal attacks are hurtful, of course, everyone is human . . . although probably that is making too much of it because the reality is these people writing about me don’t know me."

But Cherie, 53, confessed: "I was not expecting the reaction. I thought by now people would have lost interest in attacking me, but clearly that was rather naive."

In an interview at her legal chambers in London, she talked about her book and some of her regrets during her life and time at 10 Downing Street.

She described her book as: "A book for women. Maybe people thought I would write a political book, but it was never going to be that. I have always loved reading and particularly fiction.

"I wanted it to read like a novel, even it is factual rather than fiction. I hope that’s the tone I hit. It’s a book for other women."

She’s said she was determined to continue her legal career "which I love, and I don’t think the book will impact on my career at all."

Asked if she had any regrets during her life she said: "I’m certainly not Little Miss Perfect ..."

She said there were regrets:

On her love life before marriage: In the book she describes dating two men as well as going out with Tony Blair when she was young.

She said: "Now I look back and the way I behaved to my old boyfriend David or John is not really the way I would like to say to my children they should behave."

On her refusal to reveal whether her youngest son, Leo, who turns eight tomorrow, had been given the controversial MMR vaccine:

"I regret now - at the time I thought it was important to preserve the MMR - you know Leo’s privacy - but actually there was such a storm about it, in retrospect it probably would have been better just to have been up front from the beginning."

She was forced to apologise over the scandal over buying Bristol flats which had involved con man Peter Foster: "I desperately regret the Peter Foster incident because of the whole disastrous distraction it was for my husband at a time when you know he really had more important things to do."

But she said there were no regrets about their 10 year tenure at No 10: "But do I regret us going into Number 10? Not a bit. It was a fantastic privilege and I look back on what Tony achieved with a huge amount of pride.

"And I am proud that we as a family went in together, and that we stayed together and we have come out together and are going on to the next challenges."

And she revealed her pride over Tony’s role as peace envoy in the Middle East. She smiled as she said: "I must be almost the only woman whose husband leaves a difficult, dangerous and demanding job and gets another job that’s equally difficult, dangerous and demanding!

"I’m proud he wants to continue in public service and know that he has a passion and real ability to bring people together and communicate."

On whether they discussed the move she said: "In the end it was a decision for him, but he knew that me and the kids were 100% behind him."

Tony Blair returned this weekend to see their son Leo receive his First Holy Communion at Westminster Cathedral, London. "It was a lovely, joyous occasion. He looked so sweet."

She said she had no plans to write another book, joking that "I’m still suffering fatigue from this one."

While saying she hadn’t read all the coverage she doubted that many of her critics had actually read her whole book. "It looks as though they have not read the book. It does not give a fair picture of what the book is about what they’re saying."

And she said firmly: "I feel happy with the book, that’s the most important thing."

She said she’s weathering the storm because: "I have been here before and had negative press ... the thing that got me through then and now is the reaction of people around me who know me, my supportive family, my mother, my children and friends."

But she added: "It’s unfortunate that often in the press politicians are treated as though they are not people and don’t have feelings. I think it’s an unfortunate side to public life.

She said her husband, Tony, had read the book before publication and her elder children had "probably used the word search to find the parts they’re mentioned! I don’t think they’ve read it all...I wouldn’t have put in anything about them without their agreement."