LONDON, NOV 19: British politicians and newspapers feted Cherie Blair on Friday over news that the wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair is pregnant at the age of 45.All major tabloids and broadsheets splashed headlines such as ``Blair baby on the way'' and ``the Blair titch project'' after the announcement by the Prime Minister's Office late yesterday.``They are delighted at the news, which came as a total shock,'' a spokesman for Blair said.With the baby due in May, the Prime Minister will become the first in more than 150 years known to have fathered a child while in office.Cherie Blair, a prominent lawyer, already has three children - Euan, 15, Nicky, 14, and Kathryn, 11.Warm wishes poured in from political circles. Chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown called it ``wonderful news'' - a sentiment echoed by Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy. ``congratulations to Cherie and Tony,'' Opposition conservative leader William Hague and his wife Ffion said. ``We are delighted for the wholefamily.''There was speculation that the baby had been conceived during the Blairs' holiday in Tuscany in August but many papers wondered when the couple had any time in their hectic schedules for romance.The couple had hoped to announce the pregnancy later in Blair's term, said the spokesman, but were forced to break the news after inquiries from a tabloid.``They are sorry not to have been able to tell all their friends before it became public in this way,'' he added.Under her maiden name of Cherie Booth, the Prime Minister's wife is a senior barrister whose reported income of more than - 200,000 a year is well above that of her husband.Some of the papers reported she had already been advised to scale back her busy work schedule, while others drew attention to the health risks for older mothers.Not all were overjoyed at the new arrival.``Great. Just what the country needs - another Blair babe,'' a commentator for The Daily Star tabloid wrote.
