Cherie Blair

Cherie Blair QC (born in Bury, Greater Manchester on September 23, 1954) is the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. She is a successful lawyer, in which capacity she uses her maiden name Cherie Booth.

Related Topics:
QC - Bury - Greater Manchester - September 23 - 1954 - British Prime Minister - Tony Blair - Lawyer

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Her father, the actor Tony Booth, walked out when she was two, after which Cherie and her sister, Lindsey, would be raised by their mother, the former Gale Smith, a devout Roman Catholic. The girls attended Catholic schools. Tony Booth would later gain fame for his role in the BBC comedy Til Death Us Do Part. When Cherie was an adult her father married the British actress Patricia Phoenix.

Related Topics:
Tony Booth - BBC - Til Death Us Do Part

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She studied at the London School of Economics for a law degree and was the first (and still the only) person to earn an LSE law degree with a first class in all her subjects. She later came at the top of her year in the bar exams, while teaching law at the University of Westminster. In 1976, while she was studying to become a lawyer, she met Tony Blair. She won a pupillage in the chambers of Derry Irvine ahead of him, although he was taken on part-time. Married on March 29, 1980, they have four children: Euan, Nicky, Kathryn and Leo.

Related Topics:
London School of Economics - University of Westminster - 1976 - Derry Irvine - March 29 - 1980 - Euan - Nicky - Kathryn - Leo

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Booth unsuccessfully contested the seat of North Thanet in Kent at the 1983 UK general election, while her husband was selected at the last minute for a safe seat in Sedgefield, County Durham in the same election.

Related Topics:
North Thanet - Kent - 1983 UK general election - Sedgefield - County Durham

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Booth became a barrister in 1976 and Queen's Counsel in 1995. In 1999 she was appointed a Recorder (a permanent part-time judge) in the County Court and Crown Court. She is Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University, and Governor of the London School of Economics and the Open University. She is a founding member of Matrix Chambers, London, from which she continues to practice as a barrister. Matrix were formed in 2000 specialising in human rights law, though members also practice in a range of areas of UK public and private law, the law of the European Union and European Convention on Human Rights, and public international law (http://146.101.169.11/AreasOfPractice.aspx).

Related Topics:
Barrister - Queen's Counsel - Recorder - County Court - Crown Court - Liverpool John Moores University - London School of Economics - Open University - Matrix Chambers

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Booth specialises in employment, discrimination and public law and in this capacity has sometimes represented claimants taking cases against the UK government, for example Purja and Ors v Ministry of Defence.

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In 2002, Booth hit the newspaper headlines in the scandal referred to as "Cheriegate" because of her involvement with Peter Foster, a convicted Australian conman, who assisted her with the purchase of two flats in Bristol. Booth tried to distance herself from Foster and briefed the press office at Number 10 to go public with a statement claiming that Foster was not involved with the deal. She was caught out when Foster provided evidence that she had lied. She went public herself, tearfully reading a prepared statement blaming her "misfortune" on the pressures of running a family and being a mother. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2563649.stm

Related Topics:
2002 - Peter Foster - Australia - Conman - Bristol

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Her relationship with Peter Foster's then-partner, the so-called "style guru" and former model Carole Caplin has given rise to headlines in some newspapers. Caplin is credited with introducing Booth to various New Age symbols and beliefs, including "magic pendants" known as "BioElectric Shields" http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,856064,00.html. The most controversial of Booth's New Age practices occurred when on holiday in Mexico she and her husband, wearing only bathing costumes, took part in a rebirthing procedure that involved smearing mud and fruit over each others' bodies while sitting in a steam bath. (Original source: Francis Wheen: How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World, Harper Perennial 2004, ISBN: 0007140975).

Related Topics:
Carole Caplin - New Age

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In October 2004, The Blairs purchased No. 29 Connaught Square, London for a reported £3.5 million pounds. In many ways Blair's house is similar to 10 Downing Street, having even been used as a replica for the Prime Minster's official residence during the filming of the TV series "The Alan Clark Diaries". It has been speculated that part of No. 29 is to be converted into offices for a future Blair Foundation.

Related Topics:
October 2004 - Connaught Square - London - 10 Downing Street - Alan Clark

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