Cherie Blair tells Labour to get behind Starmer as she slams members 'fighting among ourselves'
The human rights lawyer and wife of former PM Sir Tony Blair also said the corruption conviction of Labour MP Tulip Siddiq in Bangladesh was 'politically-motivated'
Lady Cherie Blair, wife of former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, has called on Labour to stop "fighting among ourselves" and get behind Sir Keir Starmer's government.
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Human rights lawyer Lady Cherie told LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr that "being Prime Minister is a hugely difficult job” when asked about Sir Keir Starmer's time in Downing Street so far.
She called on Labour Party members to “get behind our Government and make sure that we do the best job for the British people".
Lady Cherie added: "Let's get on with that rather than fighting amongst ourselves."
Read More: Caller Michael: 'Tulip Siddiq should face a by-election, guilty or not'
Read More: Who is Tulip Siddiq and what has happened?
The senior barrister was speaking to Andrew after Labour MP and former frontbencher Tulip Siddiq was convicted of corruption in a Bangladeshi court and sentenced to two years in prison in absentia.
She was among several high-profile figures who declared that Ms Siddiq had not had a fair trial and that the prosecution was politically motivated.
It is understood that senior legal professionals advising on the case, including Robert Buckland KC and former Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, have said that this “trial” has been unfair.
Ms Siddiq is the niece of exiled former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was removed from power last year following an uprising.
Lady Cherie said of the trial: "The problem is that she has not had a fair trial. The problem is she's been adjudicated as a fugitive in her absence.
"The problem is, she has not had any legal representation in these proceedings, and despite the efforts of her solicitors here in London to both notify the authorities that she's here and is ready to answer the claims against her, and asking for details of those claims against her, the Bangladeshi authorities have singly failed to give her a single piece of evidence so that she could even if she wanted to respond.
"And indeed, [they] have gone further and intimidated the Bangladeshi lawyer that was prepared to represent her, so he withdrew from representing her."
In August, Ms Siddiq branded the trial a "farce" after she was accused of obtaining plots of land from her aunt, the country's former prime minister.
Tulip Siddiq has never been informed of the charges against her, according to sources, with spokespeople for the MP insisting she been able to defend herself via legal representation during the Bangladeshi trial.
Lady Cherie also said: "I haven't even mentioned the fact that the corruption authority that is investigating the matter seems more interested in conducting this case through the media and alleging that Tulip is guilty than it actually is in producing the proof of that fact."