Cherie's apology: tell us what you think

Is an apology enough? Tell us what you think

Breakfast's main story this morning is the tearful public apology made last night by the Prime Minister's wife.

In an unprecedented statement on live television, Cherie Blair admitted she'd made errors of judgement, and she almost broke down as she spoke about trying to protect her family's privacy.

This morning, Breakfast talked live to the former deputy leader of the Labour Party, Margaret Beckett.

She defended the Prime Minister's wife - and said that parts of the British press were out to get her.

"In politics, you know that from time to time you will find yourself in the sort of position that Cherie Blair is in," she said.

"The rules used to be different for the families. But we are now straying into territory where anything is fair game. This is bad for politics."

She added: "It has damaged the government because it's given our enemies something to spin and make a mountain out of a molehill.

To see the Margaret Beckett interview in full click here.

So, has Cherie done enough to "draw a line" under the Foster affair? Click here to tell us what you think.

Further details from BBC News Online

The Conservatives have repeated calls for a public inquiry after Cherie Blair admitted making mistakes in her dealings with a convicted fraudster.

In an unprecedented public statement on Tuesday, a tearful prime minister's wife apologised for the embarrassment she caused in buying flats with the help of Peter Foster.

Her speech, in which she said she was "sorry" but insisted she had done nothing wrong, elicited sympathy from many quarters.

But David Davis, who shadows the deputy prime minister, said there were still questions to be answered.

Cherie speaks out
Click here to read her statement in full

And several newspapers were on Wednesday questioning why Mrs Blair checked the name of the judge presiding over Mr Foster's deportation case - a detail which emerged only on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr Davis said: "Mrs Blair gave us a very good account about how she felt about it and why she did what she did.

Three Tory concerns

Did any politicians try to influence immigration officials?

Was it right to use a blind trust to purchase property?

Exactly what part did Downing Street press officers play in the row?

"But she cannot answer the questions about the behaviour of the government - that can only be answered by someone who is free of the Number 10 system."

Shadow home secretary Oliver Letwin said he still had questions about what level of contact government ministers and Downing Street had had with the immigration officials dealing with Mr Foster - the boyfriend of Mrs Blair's friend Carole Chaplin.

The Home Office published a blow-by-blow account of the process to remove Mr Foster from the UK in an attempt to prove the matter had been dealt with in an "entirely impartial and proper way".

Peter Foster case - Home Office timetable
Click here for full story

But Mr Letwin said that did not satisfy him.

"In the absence of an independent judicial inquiry, I shall be putting these questions down in Parliament. They clearly need to be answered," he said.

It would be easier all round if there was an independent inquiry

Conservative chairwoman Theresa May

The Conservatives also want to know why the Blairs used a blind trust - where investments are made on ministers' behalf but without their knowledge, to prevent accusations of impropriety - to buy two flats in Bristol.

And they are still querying the part played by Downing Street press officers in the row.

Tory MP Peter Bottomley also wondered why it took Mrs Blair so long to give a full and frank version of events.

"The fact is that for three days both she and Tony Blair knew the media were reporting things that were not true," he said.

The row at a glance
Click here for full story

In her speech, Mrs Blair admitted to having "publicly checked the available court list for the name of the judge".

I would never want to harm the Labour government, or misuse my position in any way

Cherie Blair

She gave no reason for doing so but denied acting "improperly" or trying to influence a judge.

Mrs Blair said in her emotional statement that she was "not superwoman" and sometimes dropped the many balls she was "juggling".

She said misunderstandings had originally arisen through her "mother's instinct" to protect her children from publicity.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell praised Mrs Blair's courage and honesty in making the statement, and urged the media to "lay off" her.

"She admitted to her mistakes and frankly you have to be a pretty warped human being still not to be prepared to draw a line under this," she said.

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