Latest news with #CherieBlair
The Independent
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Files show Downing Street concern over Blairs' designer clothes deal
Tony Blair was advised by No. 10 officials to repay thousands of pounds in discounts received on designer clothes while prime minister. Newly released official files from the National Archives reveal the recommendation for him to pay back over £7,600 for items from Nicole Farhi and Paul Smith. The significant discounts, up to 60 per cent, were negotiated by Cherie Blair 's style adviser, Carole Caplin, who purchased clothes for both Blairs. Officials expressed concern that such large discounts would not be available to ordinary members of the public and could negatively impact public perception. While Cherie Blair was deemed not to have received preferential treatment, Tony Blair was advised to repay the full amount for his clothes, and future suppliers were to sign confidentiality agreements.
Telegraph
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Tony and Cherie Blair given nearly £50k discount on designer clothes
Sir Tony and Cherie Blair were given nearly £50,000 in discounts on designer clothes during his second term in office, newly-released official files have revealed. Cabinet Office papers from the National Archives show that Sir Tony had to pay thousands of pounds to cover the discount or risk breaking ministerial rules after receiving cut-price Paul Smith and Nicole Farhi garments. Officials feared the discounts could open 'a real can of worms' and Sir Tony was eventually advised to pay the difference of £7,000 in savings he had benefited from. Civil servants advised it was not necessary for Lady Blair, a top barrister, to pay the remaining savings they had identified because she received no preferential treatment. The huge discounts of up to 60 per cent off were negotiated by Carole Caplin, Lady Blair's controversial friend and style adviser, who bought clothes for her at wholesale prices from seven designers. The garments Sir Tony received discounts on are thought to include a striped blue jumper he was mocked for during the 2002 Commonwealth Summit in Coolum, Australia, as well as a Paul Smith suit he wore during the trip. According to the previously confidential papers released on Tuesday, between July 2001 and December 2002, Sir Tony received a 60 per cent discount from Nicole Farhi and a 25 per cent discount from Paul Smith. The files say that the couple bought clothes from Nicole Farhi at £8,021.50, less than half the retail price of £20,855. In a letter to the former prime minister in February 2003, Clare Sumner, a No 10 official, noted that the discount of £12,834, was so large it was 'more than the total amount you actually spent'. 'In terms of public perception the amounts involved are quite large,' she said before detailing discounts given to Sir Tony's wife. After Labour came to power, there were several media reports which quoted friends saying Lady Blair felt she had to spend a fortune on outfits for official engagements and believed the press would criticise her for looking frumpy. The records show that between July 2001 and November 2002, Lady Blair spent thousands on a range of clothes from six top designers. Ms Sumner said she had been through credit card statements and identified she had bought £21,746.50 of clothes from James Lakeland, Paul Smith, Paddy Campbell, Tanner Krolle, Janet Thurston and Barbara Bui. Lady Blair received a range of clothes for less than half the retail price of £55,149.23 and Ms Sumner noted that the £33,402 difference was 'not available to most members of the public' which was the test in the MPs' code. Ms Sumner said that critics could argue that 'this is available to you in part because you are the Prime Minister and this then plays into the spirit of the Ministerial code.' She noted that Ms Caplin was paid a salary to secure deals and this should be taken into account while it could be argued that other people with a public profile could buy clothes with similar arrangements. 'We are not arguing that anything has been done wrong, indeed nothing has been,' she said. 'The issue is one of public perception and what is available generally. No one could argue that these discounts influence policy thinking but people could argue that you get discounts as you are the Prime Minister. They could argue you promote designers' clothes. And that Cherie is benefiting from her role as PM's spouse.' Sir Tony was given four options ranging from 'do nothing' and having 'no defence' for failing to register the benefit to paying everything back. He was advised to take the option where he paid back his discounts in full so there would be 'nothing to declare' or publish the gifts. Lady Blair was advised to divide her purchases 50/50 as she was 'part spouse of the PM, part career woman' and pay the public half. 'The amount payable would be just over £28k (around £10k for you and just over £18k for Cherie),' it was suggested. 'Opening a can of worms' Sir Tony was urged to take the first option despite the 'downside' of the amount of money to pay back, which officials noted they 'would need to take care that this did not generate a story in itself'. The then prime minister was warned that pursuing another option 'opens a real can of worms' and if there was a complaint the 'damage here would be to you as the MP, and PM'. 'Worse case scenario is you may have to give evidence to the committee on clothes – unlikely but still possible,' she added. In April 2003, Ms Sumner suggested the best way forward was for Sir Tony to issue cheques of £1,166 to Paul Smith and £6,532 to Nicole Farhi, which he agreed to pay. Senior civil servants later said they were satisfied that Lady Blair received 'no preferential or beneficial treatment in her role as prime minister's wife' and did not need to pay the discounts back. It was agreed, however, that the suppliers would in future have to sign confidentiality agreements to ensure there was no incentive for them to provide goods cheaply in order to exploit the fact they the prime minister's wife wore their clothes. Ms Sumner wrote: 'For you, we still think the simplest thing is to pay for your clothes in full and that Carole should be made aware of this for the future.' Sir Tony was advised if asked by the press to say that clothes shopping was a 'personal matter' and neither had received 'preferential treatment' from designers. The Blairs' fashion sense has been subject of much discussion over the years with Alastair Campbell, Sir Tony's former adviser, once describing the former prime minister as 'looking like a prat' in a Nicole Farhi suit. Mr Campbell has also previously told how Sir Tony brought a Paul Smith coat to a visit to Putin's dacha in 2002 but chose not to wear it after being advised it would be all the media would talk about. By accepting the civil servants' advice and paying back the discounts for the clothes, Sir Tony managed to avoid a row similar to the questions Sir Keir Starmer faced in 2024 over donations of clothes from Lord Waheed Alli. Sir Keir was given clothes worth £32,000 from the Labour peer while Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, accepted thousands of pounds worth of free clothing. Both Sir Tony and Lady Blair said they had nothing to add and advice was sought and followed at the time.
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Blairs' discount designer clothes deal caused No 10 concern, files show
Ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie received tens of thousands of pounds in discounts on designer clothing while in Downing Street, documents July 2001 and December 2002, Mrs Blair bought clothes worth more than £75,000 – equivalent to £150,000 today – but paid just £31,000 for them, newly released papers from the National Archives Street officials were worried these benefits would have to be declared under a new ministerial code, which was then coming into effect, and advised the Blairs to repay thousands of is not clear from the papers if this happened. From fashion designer Nicole Farhi alone, Mrs Blair bought clothes worth nearly £21,000 for herself and the prime minister, paying just over £8, also had substantial discounts from Burberry, James Lakeland, Ungaro, Joseph, and Maria Grachvogel, amongst "wholesale" discounts had been negotiated by Carole Caplin, Mrs Blair's trainer and personal Tony, who was prime minister between 1997 and 2007, also benefited from a 25% discount from Paul Smith, famous for his freshly released documents reveal how the optics of the discounts and spending was a concern for Downing Street officials at the time."In terms of public perception," wrote No 10 private secretary Clare Sumner, "the amounts involved are quite large".Along with the cabinet secretary, she recommended that the Blairs should pay back part of the discount, though Cherie was entitled to divide her purchases into two, on the basis that half the clothes were required for her role as a "career woman".They would say the Blairs had "commercial terms" from the designers, which were usually a discount of about 10 or 15%.She suggested other options, including saying that Mrs Blair had the same treatment as other high profile individuals with a personal shopper, and that she needed the clothes for public engagements of her said Mrs Blair sometimes gave her outfits to charities or exhibitions after use: "So it is difficult to see how anyone could seriously allege she is acquiring a clear personal benefit out of your position as PM." According to the memo, the discounts had been in place for several years, and dated back to before Sir Tony was prime Tony himself scrawled "Speak to me" on the memo, dated 19 February 2003. Later that day, Mrs Blair spoke to Ms note to the cabinet secretary, dated 4 March 2003, says Mrs Blair agreed to speak to Paddy Campbell, Paul Smith and Nicole Farhi to "ask them to set out in writing their terms of trade, confirm that these terms are available to others (with personal shoppers or as individuals) and to provide an estimate of the numbers of people who bought their clothes in a similar way".She would also confirm that "confidentiality agreements" were in place with these intent was to "satisfy" Sir Andrew Turnbull, the cabinet secretary, that "no preferential treatment had been given".There is no mention of gifts of clothes discounts in the ministerial gift list in the file – which was published on 14 March behalf of the Blairs, the Tony Blair Institute said: " We have nothing to add to what has already been disclosed which shows that advice was sought and followed." As prime minister, Sir Tony received some extremely generous presents from famous people and world leaders.U2 lead singer Bono had given him a guitar – as had Bryan Berlusconi, the then Italian prime minister, offered multiple designer watches, including timepieces from Piaget, Corum, Jaeger-Coultre, and prime minister asked Ms Sumner to make the list "more boring" – so the published version did not include the type of watch, which can retail at many thousands of pounds wrote: "I have taken out details of individuals, removed the valuations for all items except those which have been purchased and minimised the descriptions of items."The concern over discounted clothes has similarities with criticism faced by Sir Keir Starmer and his wife. Last year he accepted more than £18,000 for spectacles and work clothing from the Labour peer Lord Alli, who also paid for some clothes for Sir Keir's wife Victoria worth just over £6,000.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Blair urged to pay back thousands on discounted designer clothes, files show
Prime minister Tony Blair was advised to repay thousands of pounds in discounts which he received on designer clothes, according to newly-released official files. Papers released to the National Archives show that No 10 officials recommended he should pay back more than £7,600 on items bought from Nicole Farhi and Paul Smith. The discounts were negotiated by his wife Cherie's controversial friend and style adviser, Carole Caplin, who bought clothes for Mrs Blair. Ms Caplin told officials that because she bought the clothes wholesale she was able to to secure discounts of up to 60% – including on items bought for Mr Blair as well. However, officials were concerned that such large discounts would not be available to ordinary members of the public. According to the files, between July 2001 to December 2002 the couple spent £8,021.50 with one designer alone – Nicole Farhi – when the retail price would have been £20,855. It meant the total discount they received came to £12,8343, more than the total amount they spent. Initially, officials advised that Mr Blair should repay the discounts he received in full – around £10,000 – and that Mrs Blair should pay back half the benefits she obtained – £28,000. Clare Sumner, a No 10 official, wrote: 'We are not arguing that anything has been done wrong, indeed nothing has. The issue is one of public perception.' However, after discussions with the cabinet secretary Sir Andrew Turnbull it was agreed that Mrs Blair did not receive any 'preferential or beneficial treatment' in her role as prime minister's wife. It was agreed, however, that the suppliers would in future have to sign confidentiality agreements to ensure there was no incentive for them to provide goods cheaply in order to exploit the fact they the prime minister's wife wore their clothes. But for Mr Blair, however, officials said they believed he still should pay the full amount, advising him to write cheques for to £1,116 to Paul Smith and £6,532 to Nicole Farhi. Ms Sumner wrote: 'For you, we still think the simplest thing is to pay for your clothes in full and that Carole should be made aware of this for the future.'
The Independent
21-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Tony Blair urged to pay back almost £10,000 for discounts on designer clothes, records show
Prime minister Tony Blair was advised to repay thousands of pounds in discounts which he received on designer clothes, according to newly-released official files. Papers released to the National Archives show that No 10 officials recommended he should pay back more than £7,600 on items bought from designers Nicole Farhi and Paul Smith. The discounts were negotiated by his wife Cherie's controversial friend and style adviser, Carole Caplin, who bought clothes for Mrs Blair. Ms Caplin told officials that because she bought the clothes wholesale she was able to to secure discounts of up to 60 per cent – including on items bought for Mr Blair as well. However, officials were concerned that such large discounts would not be available to ordinary members of the public. According to the files, between July 2001 to December 2002 the couple spent £8,021.50 with one designer alone – Nicole Farhi – when the retail price would have been £20,855. It meant the total discount they received came to £12,8343, more than the total amount they spent. Initially, officials advised that Mr Blair should repay the discounts he received in full – around £10,000 – and that Mrs Blair should pay back half the benefits she obtained – £28,000. Clare Sumner, a No 10 official, wrote: 'We are not arguing that anything has been done wrong, indeed nothing has. The issue is one of public perception.' However, after discussions with the cabinet secretary Sir Andrew Turnbull it was agreed that Mrs Blair did not receive any 'preferential or beneficial treatment' in her role as prime minister's wife. It was agreed, however, that the suppliers would in future have to sign confidentiality agreements to ensure there was no incentive for them to provide goods cheaply in order to exploit the fact they the prime minister's wife wore their clothes. But for Mr Blair, however, officials said they believed he still should pay the full amount, advising him to write cheques for to £1,116 to Paul Smith and £6,532 to Nicole Farhi. Ms Sumner wrote: 'For you, we still think the simplest thing is to pay for your clothes in full and that Carole should be made aware of this for the future.'
