London Letter: In comments that appear to breach the protective barrier that Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife have erected around their private life, one of their closest friends has hinted at deep and intimate trauma behind the door of Number 10 Downing Street that he said brought the British leader close to resigning earlier this year, writes Lynne O'Donnell
Since taking office, Blair has sought to ensure his children, who range in age between 20 and four years-old, have as normal a life as possible, despite their parents' high profile and pressured professional lives.
News about the children rarely appears in the national press - a snippet last year about a drinking bout by his oldest son being a rare exception - and commentary about family problems appears to have been banned from public airing in an apparent pact between the media and the prime minister's office.
The revelation by Lord Bragg in a television interview last week - which reportedly took the Blairs by surprise and which he is now said to regret - coincided with the release of a book by Cherie Blair and Bragg's wife, Cate Haste, about the difficulties endured by successive spouses of British leaders.
Mrs Blair, in an interview broadcast on Channel 4's Richard and Judy show on Thursday, says her husband never considered resigning. Cherie's former assistant, Fiona Millar, followed up Bragg's comments with a long article in The Guardian about the massive demands faced by Cherie in her role as prime ministerial partner as she continued her career as a Queen's Counsel as well as being a mother of four.
Comments by Bragg, author, broadcaster and privileged member of the Blairs' inner circle, sparked off intense media speculation about the prime minister's longevity in office, focused primarily on an agreement he made, and then broke, with Chancellor Gordon Brown to hand over the leadership before the next election.
"Mr Blair changed his mind over the summer and decided he wanted to lead Labour into the next election and a record third term. Mrs Blair is understood to have played a key role in persuading him to carry on and not hand over to Mr Brown," the Daily Telegraph reported.
"After two health scares last year, Mr Blair's colleagues say he is now fit and has regained enthusiasm for the job."
Little media attention is being trained on what Bragg said about the root of the prime minister's alleged agony over whether to continue in the top job, which hints at serious problems faced by one or more of the Blair children.
In the interview, Bragg referred to "colossal" family strain, and said the prime minister had been under "tremendous stress" earlier this year, when he was being "hammered" by the press.
These domestic difficulties coincided with a nadir in the prime minister's popularity - over the Iraq war and the release of photographs showing Iraqi prisoners being abused by their American jailers in Abu Ghraib prison - when it was suggested he was becoming a liability for the Labour Party.
There were domestic concerns, too, that appear to have brought to a head the simmering rivalry between Blair and Brown, which has been catapulted back to the top of the political agenda amid coverage of the party's annual conference and apparent attempts to shift emphasis from the private quarters of the prime minister's residence.
According to Bragg, it is "family" that matters most to Blair, and family matters had prompted contemplation of resignation. Without going into detail, Bragg stressed the problems had nothing to do with the Blairs' own relationship.
"Perhaps he had doubts about some policies, perhaps not. The real stress was personal and family, which matters most to him. And my guess is that the considerations of his family became very pressing," Bragg said.
"That was what made him think things over very carefully. What people don't seem to know is how very, very strong he is, and how determined he is to help make this country a better place. And I think he is on track to do that. But, yes, he was under colossal strain. My guess is that it was domestic rather than anything else. Domestic, not in any sense about him and Cherie. I have never seen a couple get on as well as those two. It was not that."
Bragg's comments were said to have shocked Westminster, with Peter Mandelson, a European commissioner and one of Blair's oldest confidantes, saying: "I'm probably as close to the Prime Minister and his family as anyone in political life in this country and it's certainly news to me."
Bragg is said to be devastated to be thought of as a traitor to the Blairs who held him in such high regard he was invited to Cherie's 50th birthday party just days before his television appearance.