Tony Blair arrived back on the general election trail today amid a new row over one of his charities.
The former Prime Minister was in the key Labour seat of Harrow West to give a boost to Labour's final week of campaigning.
But as he visited the constituency of trade minister Gareth Thomas, Mr Blair's life after Downing Street sparked a fresh controversy.
The Tories released a letter from the Charities Commission which said that it had decided to look into complaints that the Tony Blair Governance Initiative — a registered charity — had breached rules on political activity.
Greg Hands, Conservative candidate for Chelsea and Fulham, had written to the regulator to claim that supporters of the charity may have had their details shared and passed onto a new website supporting the Labour party.
Charity rules expressly forbid charities from political activity and support of political parties.
In a letter to Mr Hands, Kenneth Dibble, executive director of legal services and compliance at the Commission, wrote: "I can now confirm that we have opened a case within our Assessment Unit, in order to explore these concerns."
Sources close to Mr Blair said that the Commission was obliged to look at complaints it received. That did not mean it was launching a formal investigation.
A spokesman for Tony Blair said: "The work of Tony Blair's charities is entirely separate from any political campaigning he may engage in."
