Fraudster helped Blair’s wife to buy two flats

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair’s wife Cherie yesterday confirmed convicted fraudster Peter Foster helped her buy two flats in Bristol.

In a statement issued via Downing Street she said he had helped by talking to the agents for a flat “for a couple of weeks”.

She added if she had caused “any misunderstanding between the Number 10 press office and the media that is unfortunate and I regret that”.

The statement came after a series of e-mails between her and Mr Foster were published by the Daily Mail and after Number 10 said talks over the flats were handled by Mrs Blair and her lawyer.

They suggest he saved the prime minister’s wife a total of £69,000 on the price of two £297,000 flats in Bristol by negotiating personally with the vendor.

The newspaper’s e-mails show Mr Foster offered Mrs Blair the services of his own accountant to arrange a mortgage, found a letting agent to rent out the flats for her and persuaded the agent to reduce his normal fee.

The claims that Mr Foster, an Australian who has served time in prison, had helped negotiate a discount on the flats emerged at the weekend.

When that claim was initially put to Downing Street, a spokesman insisted Mr Foster had never been the Blairs’ financial adviser, Mr Blair had never met Mr Foster, and Mr Foster had never been to Downing Street or Chequers.

But yesterday the prime minister’s official spokesman said Ms Blair had decided to issue the statement because of the “continuing personal campaign” by Mail newspapers against her.