Cherie controversy at-a-glance

How the row over Cherie Blair's links with Peter Foster unfolded

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Sunday 1 December

• The Mail on Sunday alleges that convicted fraudster Mr Foster boasted to business contacts that Mrs Blair had asked him to negotiate the purchase of two luxury flats in Bristol
• Foster said he used the Blair name to get a £20,000 discount on each flat
• The paper says Peter Foster became part of Cherie Blair's "inner circle" after starting a relationship with Carole Caplin, her "fitness guru"

Monday 2 December

• Downing Street says Peter Foster was not Mrs Blair's financial adviser
• It says the Prime Minister had never met Mr Foster and Mr Foster had never visited Downing Street or Chequers
• Asked about reports that one of the flats was for Euan, the Blairs' eldest son, Downing Street says where he lives is a private matter

Tuesday 3 December

• Downing Street insists that if there had been negotiations over the purchase of property they would have been carried out by Mrs Blair and her lawyer.

Thursday 5 December

• The Daily Mail publishes e-mail correspondence between Mr Foster and Mrs Blair
• In them, Mr Foster tells Mrs Blair he has managed to get the property price down
• He says his accountant is able to obtain a mortgage for her
• After being sent the forms she needs to fill in, Mrs Blair tells Foster: "You are a star, I have sent them off."
• Foster says he has got a letting agent to reduce his fee

Both Mrs Blair and Mr Foster then issued statements.

Cherie Blair statement:
Released at 1130 on 5 December

• Mrs Blair issues a statement admitting that Mr Foster was involved in the flats purchase
• She says she was told about the flats complex by a family friend when her son started university in Bristol
• The asking price on the property was reduced from £295,000 to £269,000 during initial talks
• Because of work commitments, she asked Carole Caplin to look at the properties
• She says that at that point, Mrs Blair had not met Foster and knew nothing of his past
• She has since only met Foster once "by chance"
• He was not her financial adviser
• He helped in talking to property agents but was not involved in the vast bulk of her thick file on the purchase
• She regretted any misunderstanding caused by her desire to keep a private matter out of the public domain
• Foster never spoke to Tony Blair, nor did he meet Euan Blair at the property

Peter Foster's statement 1515 5 December

• His dealings with Mrs Blair were confidential and will remain so - "I will never comment"
• He "naturally regrets" his past but has paid his dues for his mistakes
• He had never been accused or charged with stealing money - instead they were over trading standards - "so maybe after all I'm not such a fraudster"
• He asked the media to give him and Carole Caplin privacy after the sad loss of their child

Sunday 8 December

• Downing Street confirms that money from the Blairs' "blind trust" was used to buy the flats
• Number 10 insists no rules have been broken
• Conservatives and Liberal Democrats raise concerns about the involvement of the Number 10 press office

Monday 9 December

• Peter Foster's solicitors issue a statement about allegations that Mrs Blair contacted them about Mr Foster's deportation case
• They say Mrs Blair took part in a conference phone call with them on 22 November
• They say this was only "to reassure" his girlfriend, Ms Caplin
• There was nothing untoward about the immigration proceedings, they add
• Mrs Blair "did not intrude into our conduct of the proceedings and for the avoidance of doubt, had no say whatsoever in our choice of representation"

Tony Blair response
Monday 9 December

• Mr Blair responds to questions from Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith
• He says: "At no point did Mrs Blair interfere in the immigration case proceedings. Nor would she."
• The call to the solicitors had been "short" and aimed at helping Ms Caplin
• Tony Blair himself said the case was handled "entirely properly" and there had been no "political interference"

Tuesday 10 December

• The Tories question whether plans to deport Peter Foster were speeded up after the controversy went public
• They demand a short independent inquiry into how the case was handled - a call branded "completely unjustified" by Home Office Minister Lord Falconer
• Downing Street accuses the media of a "deliberate campaign of character assassination" against Mrs Blair
• Number 10 says Mrs Blair did not know the details of Foster's troubled past even when she spoke to his solicitor
• Mrs Blair makes a full and public statement, admitting she made mistakes and apologising for any embarrassment caused

Wednesday 11 December

• Tony Blair speaks of his pride for his wife and says some sections of the media have created "a mountain of distortion and half truth"
• Iain Duncan Smith says only an independent inquiry into the government's role can restore Number 10's integrity
• The prime minister insists all questions have been properly answered

Thursday 12 December

• The Scotsman newspaper publishes fresh allegations, claiming Mrs Blair was more intimately involved in Mr Foster's extradition case than previously acknowledged by Downing Street.
• The paper claims Mrs Blair asked for and received the defence case against deportation
• It also says she asked for and received the Crown case to have him deported - those papers were faxed to her by Peter Foster's solicitor
• And then faxed Peter Foster to discuss the case
• It claims she then advised Mr Foster's lawyers that they ought to include a human rights defence element
• But the claim that Mrs Blair asked for and received a fax detailing the defence case was promptly denied Ms Caplin, in her first public statement on the affair
• The former model turned lifestyle guru said she had asked for the fax, when she was at Mrs Blair's flat
• She said Mrs Blair had refused to look at its contents
• This version of events was backed up by Downing Street, which dismissed the Scotsman story was "inaccuracies presented as fact"
• Mr Foster's solicitor, David Janes also appeared to support Downing Street's story
• In a statement, Mr Janes said his firm had neither sought nor received any advice on the Foster case from Mrs Blair
• Tony Blair urges people to "move on" from the row, saying everyone had had "their pound of flesh"

Friday 13 December

• The Sun newspaper publishes transcripts of what it says are telephone conversations between Peter Foster, his brother and his mother
• The transcripts suggest that Mr Foster tried to sell the story of his involvement with Cherie Blair for thousands of pounds
• In the transcripts, Mr Foster alleges that Mrs Blair did read details of his case after they were faxed to Downing Street
• Tony Blair says he will not comment further on the row, but wants to deal with "more important" matters
• The media agency representing Carole Caplin issues a statement saying it warned Downing Street of a blackmail attempt related to Peter Foster's involvement with Cherie Blair three days before the story of her involvement with Mr Foster broke
• It says a blackmail letter had been sent to Mr Foster
• The agency, MacLaurin Media, says it has received numerous media approaches for interviews with both Miss Caplin and Mr Foster, but had advised against selling their stories
• The agency says Mr Foster will make a statement on Monday 16 December

Saturday 14 December

• In more transcripts said to be Peter Foster's telephone calls, the convicted fraudster warns of "bullets" to come which he says will damage with Tony and Cherie Blair
• Mr Foster tells reporters his story is not for sale 'at any price'

Sunday 15 December

• There are more newspaper reports on the case
• One says Mr Foster plans to leave the UK and that he will take Carole Caplin with him
• The News of the World confirms it offered Mr Foster money to tell his story

Monday, 16 December

• Foster says he has not decided to return to Australia and will continue his appeal against deportation
• He says his story is not on offer "at any price", but he is planning the last chapters of his autobiography
• He denies targeting the Blairs and apologises to them for the "mess" his help has caused
• Cherie Blair gave him advice about his legal case, but did not interfere with the legal process, says Foster
• He accuses the media of a "character assassination" against him