Dodgy Tea, Topless Models, Now This
L O N D O N, Dec. 18 -- Convicted con man, failed entrepreneur, womanizer. Peter Foster is guilty of many things. Now, he is guilty of embarrassing the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Best known for his ex-girlfriend, topless model and songstress Samantha Fox, Foster is used to life under the spotlight. But his latest brush with infamy led to him making a public statement this week over his relationship with Cherie Blair.
"I apologize to Tony and Cherie for the mess a little help from your friends can get you into," Foster said in an address broadcast live on British television.
Foster insisted neither he nor Cherie Blair had done anything wrong when he helped her save $109,000 on the purchase of two apartments.
The link between Foster, who faces deportation because of his criminal record, and Cherie Blair comes in the form of his girlfriend, Mrs. Blair's "lifestyle guru" and close friend Carol Caplin.
Dubbed "Cheriegate" by the British press, there has been a feeding frenzy over the story for the past two weeks.
The Downing Street press engine steamed into action defending Cherie Blair's involvement with Foster, but as more facts were revealed, more papers turned against the spin doctors and Mrs. Blair.
She was even forced to issue her own televised statement. She admitted she had made a mistake by allowing "someone I barely knew and had not then met to get involved in my family's affairs."
The episode is drawing to an end, and the debate in Britain is starting to cool, but most commentators are in agreement that Foster is not the sort of man the prime minister's wife should be consorting with.
A Three-Continent Criminal
It seems the episode has drawn to an end with a press conference held by Foster, "to make a final statement in the interests of truth and clarity."
Foster has received prison sentences in three continents. His first brush with the law came when he was a 17-year-old boxing promoter in his homeland Australia. He was fined $64,000 for attempted fraud when he tried to claim insurance on a canceled fight.
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