Cherie: Tony says I'm a 'bolshie Scouser'

The Prime Minister's wife does not flinch from the description but says that she is a typical "very strong and independent" woman of England's North-west.

Mrs Blair gives few clues as to when she will be moving out of Downing Street and into the couple's house in London's West End in an interview in yesterday's Times. Asked if she would continue to do her charity work when her husband is no longer PM, she said: "It's not over yet, darling!"

Mrs Blair also says she has brought her children up to follow her Roman Catholic faith because she does not want them to be "simply part of the Establishment". She said she wanted to raise her four children as Catholics because of the "little bit of grit" in the faith that informs its social teachings.