How little Leo Blair was conceived is definitely too much information

By Jenny McCartney

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In the past week, I have discovered rather a lot of personal details about Cherie Blair that I’m not sure I ever wanted to know. She first got acquainted with Tony atop a double-decker bus, at a time when she was already dating two other people (John and David, in case you’re interested) and the Blairs-to-be duly fell into bed together that night. Read more from Jenny McCartney   Cherie Blair's telling of intimate tales is very much 'à la mode' in our culture She conceived Leo on a trip to Balmoral because she had left her “contraceptive equipment” behind out of worry that it would be unpacked by a diligent courtier. Anyway, what with the Balmoral chill and “one thing and another” she soon found herself on course to produce the first baby born to a serving prime minister in 152 years. Oh my. All this information – which could, of course, simply have been left out – conjures up an image of Tony and Cherie as a rather racy pair who are permanently “up for it” in the great British seaside postcard tradition. Reading it is a bit like going round to your middle-aged next-door neighbours’ garden for a summer barbecue and, after one too many glasses of rosé, hearing rather more about what Terry and June get up to in the bedroom department than anyone bargained for. I heard Cherie on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour with Jenni Murray last Thursday, protesting that there was a lot more serious matter in the book than the headlines had suggested: worthy stuff, like all the tireless work that Cherie does for women’s charities. I’m sure there is, and one very simple way to keep everyone’s minds on it would have been to delete the distracting snippets about her sex life. The drawback to the demure approach, of course, is that people might not be quite as interested, and her publisher might have been a bit put out. But at least she would have hung on to her dignity. The most saleable commodities in publishing today are the “misery memoirs” detailing childhood abuse, or those chronicling adult excesses such as the reminiscences of the glamour model Jordan or the reality TV star Kerry Katona. We live in the thick of a seething culture of disclosure, and the individuals who thrive best in public life are either those who are consistent about where they draw the line between public and private information, or those who are prepared gleefully to jettison the notion of privacy entirely. advertisement The comedian Russell Brand, for example, is almost impossible to dislike, so gamely does he accept the rules of engagement. He loves being tailed by the paparazzi, he says, because they protect him from muggers. He makes no attempt to quibble with the lurid kiss-and-tells about him from various lap-dancers, presumably because they are largely true. To lead such a life, as completely transparent as a well-scrubbed fish tank, would not be to my taste, but I admire Mr Brand’s philosophical coherence. What I cannot admire, are those in British political life who bleat constantly about media intrusion, only to flog their memoirs with details that could easily grace the front pages of Now, Reveal, Closer, Heat or any of the other gossip magazines that throng the news-stands. In recent months we have learned from John Prescott’s autobiography that he was a secret bulimic who yearned to eat his way through the entire menu at his favourite Chinese restaurant, Mr Chu’s in Hull, before making himself sick. Lord Levy, Blair’s former right-hand man, unveiled in his memoirs Cherie’s alleged discomfort over Tony’s closeness to his aide Anji Hunter, and hinted that he had to alert a blushing Tony to the danger of his “increasingly long massages” at the hands of Cherie’s friend Carole Caplin. If this lot aren’t peddling their own secrets, they’re selling each other’s. The art of the political memoir is an old and distinguished one, of course, and discretion has never been its life-blood. That is why there used to be an accepted interval of many years between the author’s exit from the arena of power and publication. Then, at least, the writer could be sure that while the work might dent a colleague’s reputation, it was unlikely to damage a political career. Now, they rush the books out while the market’s still piping hot. Cherie doesn’t seem to mind one bit about adding to Gordon Brown’s woes during a hellish time in office with her unflattering portrait of him. Whatever her protestations about her long-standing love of the Labour party, it is impossible not to conclude that, like so many others, she reserves her true passion for the profits of political kiss-and-tell. A new terror stalks our streets Last Monday, I walked past a McDonald's restaurant in London's Oxford Street, which was packed with shoppers on a sunny afternoon. Fifteen minutes later, a 22-year-old man was stabbed to death on that very spot. The victim himself was about to stand trial for an alleged role in the brutal rape of a 16-year-old girl.

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To Robbed by a Sub-Prime Minister on May 18, 2008 11:10 AM

"I think that PM's spouses should be banned from cashing in on their position."

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think you will find that she is the first one to do it and with it, showing what contempt the Blair's have for high office.

"Scum of the earth" is a term my Dad used to use for these types of people.

In the so called government of 'sleaze' Norma Major was nothing like the Blair woman. If anything, she struck me as a real class lady.




Posted by Charles Crosby on May 18, 2008 2:33 PM
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A champagne socialist if ever there was one.
Posted by Tony Gee on May 18, 2008 2:09 PM
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Doubtless she will do well from the sales of this memoir but it comes now at the cost of a tarnished reputation. Dignity, intergrity and plain old fashioned decency have been flung out of the window for a fast buck. No wonder she is looked upon as a laughing stock now. And rightly so.
Posted by Geoffrey on May 18, 2008 1:54 PM
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Nemesis 8.53 am

I have tried three times to reply to your posting but I suspect that my postings are being censored. This is not because they are discourteous to you but because they give details about some highly placed political and religious figures that have been plotting to undermine Western Governments and Churches for many years.

I can't give the full details as this is my fourth attempt but I am not into wild consipiracy theories I can assure you:

1 There was a deliberate attempt by certain communists and others after the Second Vatican Council to bring in a number of changes that were never sanctioned;

2 This had the intended (by them) effect of leaving large numbers of Catholics with a very poor understanding of their Faith.

3 Before others get smug, the very same sort of people also infiltrated Protestant Churches and Western Governments too;

4 The Catholic Bishops in many countries are almost close to schism and Pope Benedict XVI is actually much weaker because of mass disobedience than many non-Catholics realize;

5 As far as confession is concerned, this is a very complex subject but many conditions have to obtain in order for it to be valid. Absolution is only valid if these conditions are met. Indeed, deliberate abuse of the confessional is sacreligious and would actually make one's position worse. Presumption (in a strict theological sense of the word) always needs to be avoided.


Posted by Mark Kenneth Owen on May 18, 2008 1:45 PM
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To the ignoramus calling himself 'Big Joak' - by all means feel free to express your political and social opinions but do leave out the blatant anti English bigotry - I have lived and worked in Scotland and all I'll say is that 'people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones' and leave it at that!
Posted by phil lewis on May 18, 2008 12:30 PM
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The commentator calling herself 'Little Miss Rage' makes a good point about Cherie being a Catholic yet openly talking about her contraceptive habits. It the hypocrisy doesn't end there though - Cherie is also a feminist and it is clear that FEMINISM is her true 'religion' because how else do you explain a Catholic supporting the Labour party's feminist agenda of undermining marriage and encouraging the breakup of nuclear families??
Posted by phil lewis on May 18, 2008 12:24 PM
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At last! I now know what a true Roman Catholic is.I must say the sex bit had me somewhat confused,but Cherie has made it so clear to me.I always wondered why she wore white to meet the Pope,I thought that was only for Queens!
Posted by Robert Boyd on May 18, 2008 12:24 PM
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Always thought of her as a witch, but when she said Arab terrorists are homicide bombers in Israel because they're 'depressed' that's when I understood how evil and confused and what a loser she truly is, a hateful person.
Posted by Greg on May 18, 2008 12:17 PM
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Here cum de judge.

Posted by mike mines on May 18, 2008 11:57 AM
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A vile woman.Be fair would you?.I mean when you look at the early photos of the dopey looking Bliar,any port in a storm would have been a result for that chump.
Posted by banachech on May 18, 2008 11:51 AM
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What next,a film, starring Blair and Booth directed by Tony Booth?
Casaplonka!
Posted by Ava on May 18, 2008 11:45 AM
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The English love the salacious but in the past they delivered it to each other behind hand over mouth. They now prefer it delivered on television/radio because so many of them cannot read effectively. That's why Ms C Booth aka Mrs A Blair wrote it all down in a book so it would immediately attract the BBC to have her effort as 'Book of the Week'. We should be told the fee paid since that would be in keeping with the position of Ms Booth QC as a defender of human rights, in this instance a revelation of how the licence-payers' money was being disbursed to her. We could also perhaps ask to be enlightened on the procedures used to appoint QCs and to what extent and with what rigour they were applied in her case. There must have been some grounds for taking a generous view of this self-publicising,posturing popsie's attributes.
Posted by Big Joak on May 18, 2008 11:34 AM
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There is one sure way of ridding ourselves of parasites like the Blairs - the guillotine.
Posted by Frank Muller on May 18, 2008 11:13 AM
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I think that PM's spouses should be banned from cashing in on their position.
Posted by Robbed by a Sub-Prime Minister on May 18, 2008 11:10 AM
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Mrs. Blair suffered long at the hands of female journalists who often picked her to pieces in a cruel and unnecessary way.
Perhaps Mrs. Blair is reminding those, who often write about their own partners as though they are pet poodles, that she is married to one of the most handsome, charming and witty men on the European stage and in spite of his growing power they still have a loving and close relationship. The journalists who are forever scratching around for salacious crumbs should be grateful that she has thrown them a few.
Posted by E.Theaker on May 18, 2008 11:06 AM
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The Blair's have walked away very wealthy people,but look what they have left behind.
Posted by EX-BRAT on May 18, 2008 11:05 AM
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To Nemesis on May 18, 2008 8:53 AM

And enough money to put in the box!
Posted by Charles Crosby on May 18, 2008 10:42 AM
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I'm really confused about Roman Catholics; I thought they eschewed contraception and didn't sleep with anyone until they were wed.

Oh well. Makes me re-assess the phrase 'is the Pope a Catholic'.
Posted by Little Miss Rage on May 18, 2008 10:40 AM
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Your second article on violence in Britain's streets is the only one worth reading as something can be done about it. Watch Boris Johnson sort it out in London!
Posted by Florence Allen on May 18, 2008 10:38 AM
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IGONIKON JACK goes on forever with his "deep and thoughtful" evaluation
of Tony and Cherie. Why waste tine on
two greedy little people - we have
had such before, but a few short
years later we don't even remember nor recognize them nor their names.
Ta-ta! to them! I valued my short-
haired German pinter more...miss himn
and at times look at his photo. He was honest, loving and faithful...

Posted by estee hoover on May 18, 2008 10:36 AM
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Ms McCartney, please refrain from giving the Blairs more publicity (especially the wife); you know it will only further encourage them.

Allow their public life to go the way of the Norwegian Blue. Let them join the choir invisible.

Posted by Jim, in the West Country on May 18, 2008 10:30 AM
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Whatever the BLiars say is a waste of oxygen...The BLiars are a waste of oxygen.

Posted by Dan H. on May 18, 2008 10:03 AM
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Yes, Sam. You've got my pledge to not buy the book.

I can't think of anything more repugnant.
Posted by Annie on May 18, 2008 10:01 AM
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There is nothing that I can add to the comments already made, about this odious woman.....one cannot call her a lady....so I won't even get started.
My fury has been aroused this morning though, by hearing that the short 15-minutes I cherish each week day at breakfast time, Book of the Week, on Radio 4, has been allocated to the serialisation of this crude and vulgar woman's gossip; to call it her Memoirs is too ridiculous. Who is she, or who was she...the wife of a Prime Minister? Not an M.P. or a figure of any consequence. The BBC are totally out of order in using Licence Fees to further line the pockets of this ghastly woman. I shall have to forgo a programme which normally gives me a great deal of pleasure. Please let this be the last sighting, or sound, of Mrs. Blair!
Posted by Celia Jennings on May 18, 2008 10:00 AM
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One murder near where you're shopping is surely unlucky. Another shortly after and near where you live is mm... I hope I never bump into you on the street.
Why is it happening? Well, as we've grown more understanding and tolerant of the causes of crime and put away the means of punishment, it seems that behaviour has declined. It will continue to do so until society snaps and the resulting repression will be more ferocious than one could have imagined.
Posted by John Holland on May 18, 2008 9:59 AM
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I have voted for Labour each time - the story was sold really well.

But now I wonder...how was I so naieve?

The blairs are just money-grabbing megaolmaniacs. Good riddence.
Posted by Kevin on May 18, 2008 9:51 AM
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I can remember at school our hstory master telling us that in Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" the most fruity aspects were all rendered in Latin. We asked him to show us, so he got out a copy and started howling in fits of hysterics, saying "You wouldn't believe this, those Romans.. etc" and we all shouted "WHAT? SIR!" so he read it out in Latin- miserable fellow- and as we had all elected to do German rather than Latin, we were all "none the wiser". Quite frankly, the less I know about anyone else's sex life the happier I am. I do remember thinking after the Beckhams and the child called "Brooklyn" that perhaps this had been done before- Bryan Ferry has a son called Otis, so I wondered had he been conceived in an elevator? I believe that Bryan Ferry says that the name is a homage to Otis Redding, or was it Groucho Marx (Otis B Driftwood)? Anyway my man, the "Otis of Choice" is Johnny Otis- his facial hair inspired Frank Zappo to do likewise with the old face fungus.
Posted by Nick R on May 18, 2008 9:28 AM
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Re Balmoral and the "contraceptive equipment" I thought she was a Roman Catholic - and I thought contraception (or at least equipment aided contraception) was banned by the Pope.....

To the casual onlooker Roman Catholicism appears to be an ideal faith - you can do what you like so long as you can find enough different priests to confess to!
Posted by Nemesis on May 18, 2008 8:53 AM
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Ms. Booth is a County Court and Crown Court judge (recorder). Some might say that her behaviour brings the judiciary into disrepute.
Posted by Charles on May 18, 2008 8:46 AM
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Could I plead with DT editors please to draw a discreet veil over la Blair's tacky outpourings? Descriptions of that woman's sex life are not something I care to conjure with on a Sunday morning, or any other morning for that matter.

Posted by O Zangado on May 18, 2008 8:45 AM
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I understand she revealed that her miscarriage was used as political propaganda,I`m wondering if the pregnancy was also part of the plot and nothing to do with the omisiion of the"contraceptive equipment" from the overnight bag.
Posted by Sue on May 18, 2008 8:33 AM
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With Tony Booth for a 'father' what do you expect?

Silk purses and sows ears come to mind.
Posted by Charles Crosby on May 18, 2008 8:28 AM
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Yes,very true;violence and the fear of it terrorises our communities.It is often a fear of children but it's real. And governments should get real about it. If they don't murders and the associated , never reported assaults will continue relentlessly.
Posted by brendan.harper1@ntlworld.com on May 18, 2008 8:19 AM
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Cherie's memoirs:- the mindset of people who read such stuff is as foreign to me as the mindset of a paedophile. Are these the sort of people who would pay to watch live sex on stage in a Soho clip joint?
Our charming teenagers:- even the best of them are terrifyingly ignorant, for the concept of informative leisure reading is as foreign to them as it was once to our ancestors of the Middle Ages. Sometimes I cop a stare of such vacuity as to frighten me, for there seems to be a creature here outwardly human in form, but stripped of all inner humanity.
The Regime has created this phenomenon, and rather than attack the problem root and branch, with a wholescale abolition of the swathes of legislation which enable teenage beastliness, ranging from the child protection rackets to the human rights industry, they apply sticking plaster cures, weapons arches and metal detector paddles; the teenager deprived of his or her killing device replaces it within hours.
Posted by Robert Douglas on May 18, 2008 7:45 AM
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I am sure that for the right price she might have supplied us with photos to go with the narrative.

Devout church-going Socialists are totally uninhibited in the presence of a cheque book it would seem !

.
Posted by Max on May 18, 2008 7:44 AM
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My television has more than one channel, therefore I do not watch distasteful drivel.
Similarly, my bookshop has a wide choice of literature, so Cherie Blabbermouth's inane meanderings will not be gracing my coffee table.
Posted by M. Bargow on May 18, 2008 7:20 AM
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Cherie did not paint a nice picture while at No 10, what with her constant quest for freebies and for worshipping D grade 'celebs'. Now without a shadow of a doubt, she has confirmed what a coarse, vulgar and loose-moralled woman she is. The perfect partner for Tony Blair. I cannot believe she continues to work in the legal profession - she seems more suited for the world's oldest profession instead.
Posted by Trish Lowney on May 18, 2008 5:23 AM
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It seems most of The Telegraph women
columnists writing about Cherie Blair's Memoir: "Speaking for Myeslf",
are the church types, speaking for a
fundamentalist, conservative audience,
filibustering for moral judgementalism
and advocating for social justice and
etiquette. To them, Cherie, is a
"bad girl"--talking too much, which,
according to them, is untraditional.
Even they added Hillary to the list
of "bad girls". To, which I responded: Cherie and Hillary aren't
bad enough for publishers and Hollywood when compared to contemporary, counter-cultural trends
and ramifications in family and
individual dysfunctionalism.

We can find jsutifications for my
contention in these articles' titles
alone; where I posted commentaries of
contrary opinions as I claimed above:
Mary Riddel: "Cherie Blair's memoirs
set a bad example," (May 15, 5:33 AM)
and Mary Hornby: "Face it, Cherie and
Hillary, your husbands, were the stars," (May 16, 11:44 AM). All these
articles, including Ms. McCartney's,
are looking backwards through the
prism of religious, cultural
puritanism--an era when women stay
behind their husbands, and let them
do all the talking and bidding.
The Cinderella types. But, as I pointed out that's not what publishers
want. Neither do the audience and Hollywood.

To go further, let's examine some of
Ms. McCartney's quotes: "All this
information--which, of course, should
have been left out--conjures up an
image of Tony and Cherie as a rather
racy pair who are permanently "up for
it" in the great British seaside
postcard tradition." McCartney, is
of course, talking about how Cherie and Tony who met atop British double-decker, public-transportation bus, fell in love, did it same day; along with other conception stories. McCartney: They married and still remained married. That wouldn't stop them from taking Holy Communion. The only reason Cherie collected an advance royalty for this story is because of her celebrity status as the wife of a famous prime minister. Otherwise, there isn't much in it to impress publishers and Hollywood. The
love story pushed the advance royalty
of just over 1 million pounds. If there was a third person, you would
be talking about quadruple that amount
or more. Here, Cherie is just the
normal, traditional, dedicated wife
telling a story about her exemplary,
marital life, which doesn't usually
impress Hollywood and publishers.

Another quotation: "I'm sure one very simple way to keep everyone's minds on
it would have been to delete the
distractions snippets about sex life.
The drawback to the demure approach,
of course, is that people might not be
quite as interested and her publisher
might have been put out." Of course,
Ms. McCartney is talking about Bible
and religious-market publishers. They
are few in number and the market for
such books has dwindled.

It's for the sentimental and
romantic stories that Cherie
found a publisher in today's sleazy
and tabloid-oriented market. What I'm
saying is that Cherie didn't go far
enough compared to contemporary
publishers' taste. But, that's as far
as she could go. She is a former
First Lady. And, they settled for
that.

It's for these carefree trends that most publishers, libertarian TV
productions and programs, along with
Hollywood, are dominated by Democrats
in the US who tend to favor social liberalism. And, it's for the same reason Hollywood overwhelmingly contribute to Democratic candidates who tend to oppose censorship, fundamentalism and "Indecency Laws" restrictions. They feel that the conservative Bush administration where the Religious Right successfully pushed ultramoralistic agenda has regressive consequences on artistic freedom.

These respected women writers seem to
follow the fundamentalist doctrine and
viewpoints. That's their choice.
But, for me, if it's sleaze, I'll
write it. That has nothing to do with
morality.
Igonikon Jack, USA
Posted by Igonikon Jack on May 18, 2008 4:36 AM
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I’m sure there is, and one very simple way to keep everyone’s minds on it would have been to delete the distracting snippets about her sex life. The drawback to the demure approach, of course, is that people might not be quite as interested, and her publisher might have been a bit put out.

But at least she would have hung on to her dignity.

Hung on to her dignity? I thought she ditched that years ago!
Posted by Patrick on May 18, 2008 4:18 AM
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C Blair has not held public office her memoirs are of no value whatsoever, her book simply says what T Blair cannot because he still hopes to have a serious career. She is peddling in muck on behalf of her husband. The tidbits that we are treated to by muggins media who pay for it are to crank up sales so she can make more millions. The woman has no dignity, pride or integrity. Sadly, being unelected we cannot sack her. But we can vote with our feet and our wallets - do not buy this womans book. Save your money for your mortgage payments, treats for the children etc - you know it makes sense
Posted by sam on May 18, 2008 3:54 AM
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At the risk of over generalising, the Blairs are typical of their generation in that they mistake intellectual achievement for intelligence. They are a generation driven by externals due to a paucity of genuine wit and wisdom. Hence Cherie's failure to exercise discretion and that she demonstrates that true mark of a lower class Roman Catholic woman lies in her (hypocritical) 'moral' power over others - particularly her husband.
Posted by Cardinal Newman on May 18, 2008 3:20 AM
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Good article Jenny! I had long suspected that Cherie Blair was a self possessed opportunist. By all accounts her book seems to confirm it. I also suspected that under the lawyer/QC mantle laid a women lacking in class and civility. By all accounts of her behaviour in sportsmen's dressing rooms, her "acquisition" of gifts, which she returned (probably under duress) and her apparent refusal to follow protocol with the Royal Family only serves to confirm my suspicions. When I think of someone who is bright, Cherie Blair doesn't immediately come to mind.
Posted by Jonny on May 18, 2008 3:11 AM
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