Peter Foster faces Fiji charges

Peter Foster once did business deals for Cherie Blair

Convicted conman Peter Foster has pleaded not guilty to three immigration fraud charges in a Fiji court.

His court appearance comes after he was arrested in his underwear in a river near the capital, Suva.

The 44-year-old Australian was in the news when he bought two Bristol flats behalf of Cherie Blair four years ago.

Although the deal was not illegal, the Prime Minister's wife eventually apologised after trying to cover up the extent of her dealings with Mr Foster.

Mr Foster has been described as "Australia's greatest conman", and has spent time in prison in Australia, Britain and the US for offences including marketing bogus slimming remedies.

He was questioned by police on Monday following his release from hospital, where he had been on hunger strike for a week while recovering from a head wound.

He had jumped into a river and suffered the injury while trying to evade capture by the Fijian police.

He has now been charged with forgery, issuing forged documents and obtaining a work permit on a forged document

Mr Foster previously made headlines in Fiji when he provided financial backing to a political party during the 2001 general election. He was later barred from entering the country.