Tony Blair was forced to defend his wife, Cherie, in the Commons yesterday after she autographed a copy of the Hutton report into the death of Dr David Kelly for a Labour fund-raising auction.

Mrs Blair has faced fierce criticism after it emerged that the report she signed was sold for £400 last week at an auction in Mayfair attended by government ministers and other senior Labour figures.

Critics have described the decision to cash in on a report into the suicide of the government scientist as “crassly insensitive.” They have claimed that her actions will cause deep distress to Dr Kelly’s widow, Janice, and the couple’s children.

Dr Kelly committed suicide three years ago after being revealed as the source of a BBC report that No 10 had exaggerated intelligence about Saddam Hussein’s arsenal of chemical and biological weapons.

Challenged about his wife’s actions during Prime Minister’s Question Time yesterday, Mr Blair stopped short of offering an apology, but said: “I do not believe that any offence to anyone was intended.”

Posted: 05|25|06 at 8:44 am. Filed under: UK News.