CHEEKY COW

Last updated : 31 August 2004 By editor

CHERIE Blair may have been named the most powerful woman in Britain with a reported salary of some £250,000 - but she still has a keen eye for a bargain, according to former BBC director-general Greg Dyke.

He said the Prime Minister's wife called him one Christmas - when he was on the board of Manchester United FC - asking for a discount on a team shirt for her son, Euan.Mrs Blair wanted hers with the number 7 of David Beckham, and the legend "Blair" inscribed above.

He said: "I've known Cherie for 20 years; while I was on the board of Manchester United, even before becoming director-general, I'd even had a call from her one Christmas, asking if I could get a discount for a Manchester United shirt.”

Mr Dyke added that, while Mrs Blair wanted the shirt at a reduced price, she refused to allow him to give it to her for free.

"I offered to give her the shirt but she insisted on paying. For a while I was tempted to frame the cheque she sent me, as a memento; in the end I decided the money was more important so I cashed it," he said.