Cherie takes up the sword as strain shows on her husband's face

13 April 2012

Cherie Blair picked up a few duelling tips for her embattled husband yesterday as the strain began to show on his face.

Mrs Blair was handed a rapier, once the honourable way to end long-running feuds, as she watched children fencing in the first UK School Games in Glasgow.

Meanwhile, back in London, the Prime Minister appeared to be losing his stomach for political cut-and-thrust.

Rallying his most loyal supporters in his first public speech since saying he would step down within the year, he said Labour was "ideologically united", despite the "spasm", of the past week.

But as he spoke to party members at a Progress conference in London before departing for the Middle East, his face told a different story.

He looked shattered by the battles with Gordon Brown as he constantly bit down on his lip and his forehead etched with deep frown lines.

So it was left to Cherie to fight his corner. It is understood she phoned a prominent Labour official in Rhondda to complain about the way local MP Chris Bryant had turned on her husband.

Mr Bryant, once among Mr Blair's strongest supporters, was one of the organisers of a letter by rebel MPs calling on the Prime Minister to stand down.

Mrs Blair has been suspicious of Mr Brown from the early days of rivalry between the two men. She has always urged Mr Blair to be on his guard against the Chancellor and advised him not to step down in his favour.

Mr Brown, who last week was accused of plotting to force Mr Blair to quit No10, visited the Glasgow event last week. But although he was shown around the sporting facilities by former Olympic rower Steve Redgrave he didn't get to handle so much as the blade of an oar.

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