Tony Blair’s daughter Kathryn has been threatened at gunpoint in a botched robbery.The young barrister was walking her dog with her boyfriend and a group of friends when the attackers struck.
The pair were in Marylebone, a mile from the £975,000 home her father bought her in 2010, and near his own central London property.
Neither 25-year-old Miss Blair nor her boyfriend were harmed in the attack, which took place at around 8pm on Monday.
The attempted mugging is thought to be linked to another similar incident in the area on the same night.
The two attempted robberies took place just half an hour apart and both involved the use of a firearm to threaten a couple.
A spokesman for the Blairs said: ‘Kathryn was with a group of friends. No one was hurt and nothing was stolen.’
The group were approached by two men, one armed with a gun, and were asked for cash and jewellery before the suspects fled empty-handed.
Metropolitan Police officers from the Westminster borough are investigating but no arrests have been made.
The attack raises concerns for the safety of the Blairs, who could be targeted due to the former prime minister’s role as peace envoy to the Middle East, and to his decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003.
One security expert said last night: ‘It seems staggering that the daughter of a man who evokes such extreme emotions in some should be wandering around in the dark at night without protection.
‘To think she had a gun pulled on her and was effectively defenceless raises massive questions about her personal safety. Thankfully she came to no harm but the potential terrorism threat is obvious.’
A neighbour of Miss Blair said yesterday: ‘She must have been absolutely terrified. I can’t imagine what must have gone through her mind when she saw a man pull out a gun. My first thought would have been terrorist.
Property: The pair were in Marylebone, a mile
from the £975,000 home her father bought her in 2010, and near his own
central London property (pictured)
‘She’s a lovely girl and we are just relieved she is OK. Part of her charm is that she is so down to earth.
‘You would hardly believe her connections unless you knew her as she appears to live such a normal life but this highlights the danger of not living amid all that security.’
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘We were alerted at around 8.30pm to two attempted robberies in the street in the Marylebone area.
'The first happened at 8pm and was carried out by a lone suspect. The second occurred approximately 30 minutes later.
‘We believe both attempted robberies were carried out by the same male suspect though on the second occasion he was accompanied by another individual.
Kathryn pictured with her parents Tony and Cherie in 2006. The attempted robbery raises concerns about the safety of the Blairs
‘Neither of the two victims were injured. A firearm was shown on each occasion though no shots were discharged. Officers are investigating both attempted robberies. There have been no arrests at this stage.
‘We would urge anyone with information to contact us immediately.’
Miss Blair, who was educated in Islington, was pictured days before the attack at the wedding of her 29-year-old brother Euan to Suzanne Ashman in Buckinghamshire.
She was called to the Bar last year by Lincoln’s Inn – the same inn of court her parents Tony and Cherie joined in the 1970s.
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