Blair under fire for Louis Vuitton luxury lifestyle

While his former bagman Alastair Campbell went before the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war today, Tony Blair was facing increasing criticism for allegedly exploiting his former position as prime minister for personal gain.

It follows the news that Blair is to be paid a reported $1.2m salary to "advise" the handbags-to-couture-to-champers group LVMH run by Bernard Arnault, the wealthiest man in France and the 15th richest in the world.

Westminster is used to hearing tales of how the former PM makes a living these days: he already gets £2.5m from the the investment bank JP Morgan, another £2m from the finance group Zurich, and earns tens of thousands every time he makes an after-dinner speech. But on this occasion the critics are sharpening their knives because they clearly recall Blair cultivating his relationship with Arnault while he was still PM.

LVMH stands for Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy which means that Arnault, its majority shareholder, controls a vast array of luxury businesses, from Dior to Moet & Chandon champagne to the famous LV handbags and baggage range.

In 2004 Arnault attended an official function at Chequers, the PM's country house which Blair used more than any other recent prime minister to entertain the rich and famous, from pop and soap stars to industrialists.

Within months, Blair's son Nicky was doing work experience for Krug champagne, one of the many previously independent companies Arnault has swallowed up in recent years.

The following year, Euan Blair, the former PM's eldest son, stayed for three months in a luxury apartment in Paris paid for by Arnault, who also provided bodyguards and a chauffeur-driven car. And in early 2007, months before her father stepped aside for Gordon Brown, Kathryn Blair stayed in Paris as a guest of Arnault while studying at the Sorbonne.

Since leaving 10 Downing Street, the Blairs have been guests on Arnault's yacht Amadeus at least twice, on one occasion accompanying Arnault to meet the Pope - by now Blair's spiritual leader - at the Vatican.

Lib Dem frontbencher Norman Lamb has called for "clearer, stronger rules to prevent this sort of generous financial support". He told the Daily Mail: "If a minister knows that by maintaining a close friendship while in office they stand to benefit when they leave office, that compromises government."

Two politicians who won't be calling Blair to task are Mikhail Gorbachev and David Cameron. The former Soviet president has himself enjoyed Arnault's patronage, appearing in a Louis Vuitton print ad two years ago which showed him sitting pensively in the back of a limo driving past the remains of the Berlin Wall, his LV weekend bag on the seat beside him.

As for the Tory party leader, he is far too close to the luxury goods market himself to take issue: his wife Samantha is creative director of Smythson, the luxury leather goods and stationery retailer. ·