Cherie pulls out of Malaysia charity event
Cherie Blair has pulled out of a controversial charity event in Malaysia next month.
The Prime Minister’s wife was scheduled to fly to Malaysia to give a law lecture on July 25 before attending the launch of a luxury duty-free shopping centre six days later.
She was due to open the shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur owned by Francis Yeoh, a Malaysian billionaire, and later attend dinner and ball at the Starhill Gallery.
The gala event is to raise money for charity Breast Cancer Care.
Mrs Blair, a barrister by trade, will still give the law lecture, for which she will receive no remuneration.
A spokesman for Downing Street refused to detail the reasons behind the change of schedule.
Earlier this month, Mrs Blair raised the ire of some commentators in the press after she gave a lecture in the US, reputed to have earned her £30,000, while accompanying her husband to Washington.
Sections of the press branded her the “first lady of Downing Street” for the speech.
Several opposition MPs have called for the committee on standards in public life to probe Mrs Blair’s public speaking tours.
Meanwhile, Mrs Blair is to make a two-hour TV documentary about the spouses of British premiers, based on her book The Goldfish Bowl.
Mrs Blair will interview the three surviving spouses of former British premiers: Clarissa Eden, Mary Wilson and Norma Major.
She is expected to be paid up to £40,000 for her role as presenter for the Channel Four production, though the fee will be donated to charity.
