THE NICE MR BLAIR

Exclusive: Jasper Gerard brings you the first

ever profile of Bill Blair, QC, the Prime Minister's agreeable elder brother

FAMILIES are like drunks; uncontrol- lable. Swanks sink much energy into futile campaigns to keep the cork on the exuber- ances and eccentricities of their swaying siblings. Tony Blair is the first to succeed.

Did you know that he has an elder brother? Only two newspaper cuttings mention this relationship: one a light, diary paragraph, the other a rambling tabloid feature about the Prime Minister's school- days with Rowan Atkinson.

So what of this mystery bro? No. 10 considers revelations about Tony Blair's private life (with the excep- tion of those stories which might enhance his poll-rating, e.g., Cherie's pregnancy) treasonable, much as Churchill might have viewed blowing the gaffe about D-Day.

If such articles make Blair huff, then journalists should puff. His government is built on the warmth of his smile. Why talk of issues when there are none? And if politi- cians are interesting only as soap stars, then why not study the sup- porting cast? They reveal more about how we are governed than a Daily Mail splash about Jack Straw's latest 'crime clampdown'. True, Bill Blair is no publicity-seek- er, unlike Cherie's half-sister Lau- ren Booth; he will not be found on the client list of Mr Clifford. So this is not an attempt to pry into his intimate moments, but rather to introduce him to the nation.

In general, the brother betrays the traits that the politician has spent years suppressing. Accents, demonic stares and mixed-fibre suits have all been smoothed away by the spin doctor and Peachy Poppet from Colour Me Beautiful. The sibling is the raw material. That is why dear Terry Major-Ball so unsettled his brother. The Pooterish duffer that John Major only hinted at was revealed in its full magnifi- cence every time dear Terry enjoyed too much vodka-and-orange at Stringfellows. Similarly, the drunken yobbery of the Pres- ident's brother affords an insight into the original Bill Clinton. William James Lyn-

ton Blair QC tells us every bit as much about our current Prime Minister.

In a smart profession, William is among the smartest. This 'devout lawyer' lives in an Islington town house, a shade grander than Tony and Cherie's old pad nearby (no brown Dralon). He is a consultant to capi- talism's international police force, the International Monetary Fund, which so put the dietary brake on the last greedy Labour government. Other lawyers call him Gene Hackman, discerning a likeness to the Hollywood actor. Oh, and he bags way over £500,000 a year.

There is a psychological theory that while the elder brother craves success, the younger yearns to be liked; that the elder enjoys privileges from being first-born, while the younger has to make his own way; and so the elder wants to keep things as they are, while the younger is captivated by change. William, shortly to celebrate his 50th birthday and three years senior to Tony, is the personification of Establishment Man. He flourished at Fettes. While the future PM asked to be moved from the bracing atmosphere of Kimmerghame to a new, lib- eral house run by Eric Anderson, Bill apparently had no problem with the regime (fagging, flogging, the usual public-school pleasures). He, like Tony, became a pre- fect, which entitled him to dish out the dis- cipline, much as Douglas Hurd did at Eton to such good effect. This formed the man, for as a youngster William — according to Canon John Grove of Durham Choristers School — was a 'quiet, retiring boy', who lacked Tony's confidence and cheek.

At Oxford, Bill followed Asquith, Jenkins and co. to Balliol, where he soon acquired the intellectual certainties of that institution. Anderson has always sent his brightest to Balliol, but steered Tony to slightly more plodding St John's. William was considered charming, if conventional. After Oxford he moved to 3 Verulam Buildings, a set in Gray's Inn not renowned for its social cam- paigning. 'All the assumptions of his back- ground and his conformity suggest a conservative outlook,' says John Rentoul, the Prime Minister's biographer. 'There aren't many class warriors in legal banking.' Among silks he is bet- ter liked than his sister-in-law, Cherie. 'He has never sought to trade on,his brother's association,' says one prominent name, 'whereas Cherie's marriage can excite false expecta- tions. For years I just assumed he was a vague cousin. He lectures at Lon- don University and he writes books — which QCs don't do to make money, they write them instead of making money. That said, Bill is con- sidered a solid rather than a stellar performer.'

However, he is gaining a reputa- tion. He swiftly gained silk and he now features at the front of the Chambers' directory, reserved for the big players. Only the most hum- ble will be over-awed in the compa- ny of this shy, balding and most modest of fellows. This is confirmed by James Hughes-Onslow, a friend of Tony from Oxford and biogra- pher of Major-Ball. 'He is a delight- ful chap, specialises in tax avoidance or tax havens or some such,' he says. 'I suggested a biography of Bill, but he politely told me that he did not seek publicity. Still, he is not in the same class as Terry.'

Indeed. The Purley barbecue circuit is not for our William. He is more likely to be found among the discreetly rich crèmes bailees on the Islington social scene. Not that he is a great bon viveur. One who had lunch with him recently was at a loss to recall a single observation or joke he made over a mineral-water extravaganza. One of his more exciting social obligations used to

be baby-sitting for the Blairs, but now Cherie's mum seems to have taken on the role full-time. A colleague says he thinks Bill hangs out with Geoffrey Robertson QC and his missus, Kathy Lette; but while Robertson says he likes Bill, he has rarely met him.

Bill Blair has been married for 18 years to the younger, and rather beautiful, Katy Tse — a takeaway from Hong Kong — but this union has not produced any children. He has seen less of Tony since the march on Downing Street, but he remains intensely loyal and is invited to the occa- sional lunch. The early death of their mother, their father's stroke and the illness of their sister Sarah encouraged the broth- ers to work as a team. Says a friend, 'They are intelligent people and they learnt long ago that no publicity is good publicity. Just look at the flak Cherie has taken for not buying a bloody train ticket.' The very existence of wealthy banking lawyers with less colour than a can of Dulux's finest magnolia is what drove many socialists to rail and riot against the Tories. Then, after 17 years, the class warriors triumphed, only to find that these revolting legal specimens were not only safe, but thriving at the heart of New Britain. Just as Whigs were grander than Tories, so Labour leaders are now more pukka than Conservative ones. A fluid, middle-class establishment has been replaced, in the form of the Blairs, by an upper-middle-class elite. The Blair broth- ers are interchangeable: Bill is the conser- vative, rich and faceless lawyer Tony would have become — if only Cherie had not failed to win Thanet North, enabling her husband to blunder into politics instead.

Jasper Gerard is special writer on the Times.