The prime minister’s wife, known professionally as Cherie Booth, was set to be paid up to £100,000 in fees and expenses to appear in the high-profile commercial case in Malaysia.
However, last week she was refused permission to appear by Malaysian judges. Local sources were baffled as to why she had ever been proposed.
It has now emerged that an influential figure in the decision to appoint Blair was Cyrus Das, a key lawyer in the case. Das was one of a select number of Commonwealth lawyers invited to a Downing Street reception last September.
The event was hosted by Blair, both in her capacity as a human rights lawyer and as the prime minister’s wife. She was photographed with Das.
Das, a former president of the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association (CLA), said Blair was employed because of her legal expertise. But the decision to use her — and the subsequent legal challenge — will raise questions about whether her status as the prime minister’s wife helped secure the brief.
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One lawyer involved in the case said: “Cherie Blair always wears two hats, that of a QC and that of the prime minister’s wife. I felt that she was not best qualified for this case and it was a mistake to use her.”
The case involves a construction company, Fawziah Holdings, which is seeking compensation from a former subsidiary, Metramac, over a road construction project. The Court of Appeal ruled last January that compensation should be paid but the decision was challenged on the grounds of alleged bias.
The case has had widespread publicity in Malaysia, partly because it was alleged that two businessmen accused of siphoning money out of Metramac had the patronage of the country’s former finance minister, Tun Daim Zainuddin. He strongly denies behaving improperly.
Fawziah argued that Blair’s expertise was needed because it involved public law issues that had never previously arisen in the Malaysian courts. Lawyers for Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, the Malaysian attorney-general, and the Malaysian Bar Council opposed her appointment.
The case was heard in Malaysia’s highest court last week. It ruled that while Blair had the expertise to represent Fawziah Holdings, local lawyers were equally well suited. Blair flew to Malaysia for the hearing but was not allowed to sit with the legal team in court.