Later in the conversation, she criticised the Blairs' new London home as "horrible", saying: "I said to them, guys, we're not going to get into this conversation because I'll only depress you. Suffice to say, I think you are nuts!"

First off, that's Carole Caplan - fitness guru, taste-maker, sister of discretion - talking to a News of the World reporter posing as an Arab "sheikh" (and we dread to think what, exactly, that consisted of). Read the full article to appreciate why slagging off Connaught Street is the least of Tony Blair's worries. (She also calls him a fat man who likes a drink.) Meanwhile, the Sunday Mirror has been running alongside the Connaught Street house, watching it haemorrhage money and devalue faster than a government promise:

Tony and Cherie Blair's dream home has crashed in value by £700,000 in just seven months. The couple paid £3.65million for the five-bedroomed Regency townhouse in West London in October. But estate agents say it is now worth less than £3million - even though, nationally, house prices have risen by 10 per cent in the last year.

The article goes on to point out that the Blairs' tenant is paying £5,000 a month less than the mortgage repayments. Jeez, sometimes it's nice not to be Prime Minister.

For sale: be the Blairs' neighbour for £2.75 million [June 20]
Blairs' property jinx reaches Bristol [June 17]
Blairs' Connaught Square rental deal leaks out - gradually [March 31]