BRITAIN: Controversy surrounding the purchase of two properties by Mrs Cherie Blair with the assistance of a convicted fraudster erupted again last night when it emerged she had telephoned his solicitors about immigration proceedings against him.
Solicitors for Mr Peter Foster, an Australian, said they had received only one telephone call from Mrs Blair, in the form of a conference call with her friend - Mr Foster's girlfriend - Ms Carole Caplin.
Clearing Mrs Blair of any intrusion into the proceedings against their client, Janes Solicitors said in a statement: "The avowed and plain purpose of the telephone call was to reassure Carole that the immigration proceedings against Peter Foster were being conducted on a regular and normal basis and there was nothing untoward. We were happy to confirm this."
Emphasising that Mrs Blair did not intrude into their conduct of the proceedings, the solicitors also confirmed that Mrs Blair had had no say in their appointment of counsel in the case. "In our opinion she was simply seeking to provide support and assurance to her friend Carole and acted with complete propriety," the statement continued.
That assurance of Mrs Blair's good faith seemed unlikely to halt fresh questions about a controversy which has already revived allegations of New Labour "sleaze", embroiled government information officers in charges of misleading the parliamentary lobby and reportedly damaged relationships within Downing Street itself.
The latest development came as the Conservative leader, Mr Iain Duncan Smith, stepped into the row with direct questions for the Prime Minister, Mr Blair, about the operation of a blind trust used to purchase the Blairs' Bristol properties. Tax experts had already questioned whether the rules governing the trust - established to avoid any potential conflict of interest between Blair family investments and government policies - might have been broken.
Mr Duncan Smith wrote to Mr Blair last night querying the role of the Number 10 press office in answering original questions about Mrs Blair's property negotiations, as well as the role of Home Office officials dealing with the threatened deportation of Mr Foster, and asking him about the implications of the Blairs using the blind trust to acquire the properties where their eldest son is to attend university.
The prime minister had earlier cleared himself of any breach of the ministerial code, his official spokesman saying he was "satisfied" the property deal was in order.
Mr Blair's assertion followed his consultation about the matter with the cabinet secretary, Sir Andrew Turnbull. The code says members of the government should have no knowledge of or involvement in buying and selling assets by such trusts.
However questions persisted about an alleged agreement by Mr Foster's accountant to waive his £4,000 fee to act in the property deal and about the extent of Mrs Blair's knowledge of Mr Foster's previous history and convictions.
In her statement last week she said she had been "unaware" of details which had since become public knowledge.