Burley asked to ‘remove and revise’ details of three women in ’suave’ PM’s life in her book

LONDON - Kay Burley, whose book on a ’suave’ Prime Minister, who bears a remarkable resemblance to former British premier Tony Blair, has been asked to remove and revise several details of three women in his life, which could identify them on whom she has based her characters.

According to The Telegraph, the novel, which is due to be published next year, tells of a prime minister, Julian Jenson, who bears a resemblance to Tony Blair, and “three formidable women, united in their love for one man, but soon set on a path of revenge”.

The legal team are reportedly concerned particularly about Burley’s depiction of her fictional prime minister’s affairs with the women in the book.

The women are Valerie Jenson, a “deeply unhappy” and “weary first lady” who “spends her time drinking”; “sensational TV reporter Isla McGovern, who has caught Julian’s eye and will do anything (or anyone) to get to the top”; and Sally Simpson, “a powerful magazine editor … in skin-tight Prada and killer heels, she is every man’s fantasy”.

Although the characters are officially works of fiction, lawyers at her publisher, HarperCollins, have instructed the author to edit the final draft of the book heavily.

Among the details that have been removed is the description of Simpson as “titian-haired” and “flame-haired,” both phrases regularly used to describe a prominent former supporter of Blair. The character of McGovern, is believed to have resemblance to Gloria De Piero, the glamorous Labour MP and former political correspondent for GMTV.

Burley has also reportedly written a thinly veiled version of the relationship between Blair and Alastair Campbell in her portrayal of Jenson and his spin-doctor, Ben Watson. A character based on Adam Boulton, Sky News’s political editor, is believed to feature in the book.

Blair’s attitude towards extra-marital relationships has come under the spotlight after the publication of his memoirs, in which he implied that for a politician to have an affair is like being able to escape to a “remote desert island of pleasure”. (ANI)