Tony Blair was ordered to repay thousands of pounds in discounts on designer clothes over fears of a public outcry, newly-released files show.
Papers released by the National Archives show that the then-Prime Minister was told to pay back more than £7,600 on items bought from designers Nicole Farhi and Paul Smith.
Carole Caplin, controversial friend and style adviser to Cherie Blair, negotiated the discounts.
She told officials that she was able to get discounts of up to 60 per cent on clothes bought for the couple because she bought them wholesale.
PA
|The then-PM and his wife were told to pay back thousands of pounds over 'public perception' fears
But No10 was worried that Britons would be furious given such large discounts would never be made available to members of the public.
In the documents, Clare Summer, a Downing Street official, wrote: "We are not arguing that anything has been done wrong, indeed nothing has.
"The issue is one of public perception."
According to the files, the couple spent over £8,000 with one designer alone between July 2001 and December 2002.
PA | Tony Blair was initially told to pay £10,000 for the discounted designer goods
However, the retail price for the clothes from Nicole Farhi would have been over £20,000 - more than double what they paid.
Initially, the PM was advised to repay in full the discounts which he had received, while Cherie was advised to pay back half.
This came to around £10,000 for Tony, and £28,000 for his wife.
But, after discussion with then-Cabinet Secretary Andrew Turnbull, it was agreed that Mrs Blair did not receive any "preferential or beneficial treatment" in her role as the Prime Minister's wife.
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It was however agreed that suppliers would in future have to sign confidentiality agreements to ensure there was no incentive for them to provide goods cheaply in order to exploit the fact that the Prime Minister's wife wore their clothes.
Officials then ordered the PM to write cheques for £1,116 to Paul Smith and £6,532 to Nicole Farhi.
Summer wrote: "For you, we still think the simplest thing is to pay for your clothes in full and that Carole should be made aware of this for the future."
The reveal comes just months after Blair's Downing Street successor Sir Keir Starmer was caught up in a vicious clothing row of his own.
GETTY
|The reveal comes just months after Blair’s Downing Street successor Sir Keir Starmer was caught up in a vicious clothing row of his own
The Sunday Times first revealed that Starmer had breached parliamentary rules by failing to declare that his biggest personal donor, Lord Alli, bought some of his wife's high-end clothes for her.
Lord Alli paid for high-end clothes, a personal shopper, and garment alterations for Lady Victoria Starmer.
"Freebiegate" embroiled a string of high-profile Labour figures - but Reform's Lee Anderson branded the Prime Minister specifically "the UK's number one sponger" over the scandal.
At the time, Starmer insisted: "It's very important to me that rules are followed and that we have transparency.
"That's why, shortly after the election, my team reached out for advice on what declaration should be made, so it's in accordance with the rules."