BEIJING, Nov. 18 -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair has broken new ground by listing his wife Cherie's income from a book and foreign speaking engagements in the parliamentary register of PMs' interests.

    His office had previously insisted that Mrs. Blair's speaking engagements were undertaken in her capacity as a private citizen and human rights lawyer, not as the wife of the prime minister.

    But it said Wednesday that Mr. Blair had now decided to include his wife's income "simply to err on the side of caution," even though there was no requirement for him to do so, because of references to life in Downing Street.

    Mrs. Blair ¡ª who uses her maiden name Cherie Booth on personal engagements ¡ª has long been the target of criticism from the main opposition Conservative Party and the British media.

    One of the main allegations is that she "cashed in" her husband's position as head of the British Government, prompting calls from Tories for rules governing money earned by prime ministers' spouses to be reviewed.

    Most recently, she came under fire after it emerged that an Australian children's cancer charity was being investigated because it received less than 10 percent of the proceeds of a dinner at which Mrs. Blair gave an address.

    And earlier this year, she reportedly earned up to 30,000 pounds (US$51,000) for a Washington lecture that talked about life at Downing Street.

    (Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)