Kathryn Blair

Kathryn Blair (b. March 2, 1988) is the only daughter of British Prime Minister (PM) Tony Blair, and Cherie Booth, QC.

While her residence of record, in common with her parents and her brothers Euan, Nicky and Leo, is the ex officio residence of all PMs 10 Downing Street the family in fact live at 11 Downing Street since the accommodation there is bigger.

Speculations

It has been reported on a number of websites, but not in any mainstream UK sources, that in either April or May 2004, Kathryn Blair attempted to commit suicide. If this rumour is true, she has since seemingly made a full recovery. The rumour was originally attributed to Alan Johnson MP, a junior government minister at the time. However, the Internet reports were characterised by contradictions or embellishments over the date when this attempt is supposed to have occurred and the reasons it was not reported (some alleging the use of D-notices, even though these are now issued by an independent regulator), and by an attempt to link this alleged event to the conflict in Iraq.

An issue of the Irish Independent in November 2004 did carry the story in its initial print run, but it was removed at the request of its sister paper The Independent from later printings that day.

In September 2004, Melvyn Bragg claimed that, earlier in the year, Tony Blair had considered standing down as Prime Minister due to "pressing domestic" issues. According to the Daily Mail and other papers, this led to one Cabinet member labelling Bragg an "idiot" for "[lifting] the veil on events that have been common knowledge in political circles since April, but not publicised". Some have seen this as corroborration of the suicide speculations.

If the story is true, the mainstream press has still not run the story, either out of sensitivity or, as some claim, due to official pressure or personal appeals from Blair himself.

External links

• Fringe sources:
  • Public-Interest.co.uk (a site specialising in conspiracy theories): Tony Blair's daughter in suicide bid
  • Indymedia UK: Blair's daughter Kathryn in suicide bid
• Mainstream sources:
  • Daily Telegraph: Blair 'nearly quit over family'
  • The Age: Keeping Tony Blair's secret all in the family