Letter: Blair's new babe

Sir: I am astonished at the mindless adulation which has greeted the news of the Blair pregnancy ("A new little Blairite is on the way, Cherie tells Tony", 19 November).

The Blairs themeselves have made it clear that this was a totally unplanned event. Surely the truth is that it will dramatically and adversely transform the way the existing family will be obliged to conduct itself, both in public and in private, for the next 20 years or so.

Already there is speculation about how it might affect the career of the Prime Minister. There can be no doubt that the effect on his wife's career will be even more dramatic, and the lives of his existing children will surely be adversely affected by the burdens which a newborn baby inevitably impose.

Of course, they have to express their delight, but for the rest of us the appropriate feeling is surely one of extreme sympathy, perhaps coupled with a degree of criticism that such a mistake could have been made.

ROBERT NELSON

London E1