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Examples of her thrift, include her purchase of a 99p Winnie the Pooh alarm clock for her son Leo on eBay.Mrs Blair's status as a semi-public figure has opened her to frequent criticism, particularly in newspapers hostile to the Labour Party. The front page of yesterday's Daily Mail was filled with an account of how a police motorcyclist was dispatched with siren blaring to fetch her passport after she had left it behind when she set off to join her husband for a quiet weekend in Tuscany....AND A TRAIL OF CONTROVERSYCheriegateAustralian-born conman Peter Foster, the partner of Cherie Blair's lifestyle guru Carole Caplin, claimed to have helped the Blairs negotiate a bargain price for two Bristol flats. The ICC is also studying war crimes claims based on the Mousa case and the deaths of other Iraqi civilians.The ICC has written formally to the Ministry of Defence, asking for comments on allegations raised in a detailed legal dossier submitted by the British legal group PeaceRights, and earlier complaints by the Athens Bar Association.A QLR spokesman said yesterday: "We are full square behind the Baha Mousa investigation and if individuals are found guilty of being involved in the tragedy, the regiment wants them out more quickly than anybody else does.". Another detainee, Khifah Taha, was also hospitalised and narrowly escaped death after suffering acute kidney failure allegedly as a result of a sustained beating while in British custody.Army prosecutors and the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, are under intense legal and political pressure to investigate properly Mr Mousa's death, after the High Court ruled last December the UK had broken the Human Rights Act by failing to prevent his death or prosecute his alleged assailants quickly.The UK is facing a formal investigation by the International Criminal Court in The Hague over allegations that the UK broke international law in Iraq by using cluster bombs in urban areas and by attacking power stations. Why the apparent push to bring them under this draconian new war crimes legislation?" He said many soldiers suspect these charges were considered only after the court martial of three soldiers in February, for abusing alleged Iraqi looters at Camp Breadbasket, led to criticism that no one above the rank of corporal was charged.Another eight Iraqis arrested with Mr Mousa are preparing to sue the UK after claiming they were systematically abused and tortured by British troops.
One source added: "Military law already exists to deal with these kinds of charges. They indicated yesterday that not all the suspects are expected to stand trial, but believe as many as nine men could face a court martial.Army sources yesterday indicated there was disquiet throughout the service at the charges. But alongside another seven soldiers and officers, the four alleged assailants also face wider war crimes charges.Whitehall sources have insisted that no final decisions have yet been taken on who to prosecute, or on what charges. There is no allegation that he took part in any abuse.At least four QLR members, thought to be privates and NCOs, face specific charges of murder and abuse over Mr Mousa's death from heart failure and asphyxia, allegedly due to multiple injuries, on 15 September 2003.
As the IoS disclosed last week, the officers include the regiment's commander, Col Jorge Mendonca, 41, who has been warned he could be tried for allegedly failing to control his troops effectively. Some of her speeches were judged more book-plugging than original speechifying.. Her purchases included pyjamas, pillow cases, miniskirts, boxer shorts and a lunch box.Australian tourOn a previous speaking tour in Australia, Mrs Blair was reported to have received a £100,000 fee along with free flights, accommodation and Jaguar courtesy car while raising funds for cancer research. They had to rent it out for £2,000 a week, half of what they had hoped for.Earlier this year, she was criticised for receiving a reported £125,000 fee as payment for a six-date speaking tour of Australia and New Zealand. Her early exit from the dinner on the last night of the tour did nothing to endear her to the guests, who had paid £110 each to hear her speak.There have also been questions asked over the cost of covering her security on previous lecture tours to the US, including one earlier this year to Samford University.For a woman who earns an estimated £250,000 a year as a leading human rights lawyer, Mrs Blair has gained a reputation as a bargain hunter since her husband became prime minister. They sold the house for £615,000, but it is now thought to be worth almost three times that.She tried to re-enter the property market three years ago by buying two flats in Bristol for £525,000 - only to have them drop in value by £50,000. When Tony Blair was considering quitting Downing Street last year, the couple bought a £3.65m town house in London, but then had difficulty finding a tenant.
