Blairs object to article on son's plans for university

Tony and Cherie Blair have filed a second formal complaint about press coverage of their children's university plans, Downing Street said last night.

Tony and Cherie Blair have filed a second formal complaint about press coverage of their children's university plans, Downing Street said last night.

They have protested to the Press Complaints Commission about an article in the Sunday Express which speculated on which university their son, Nicky, 18, planned to attend.

The complaint follows a 2002 PCC ruling against The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail over their reports that the Blairs' eldest son, Euan, had applied for a place at Oxford. On that occasion, the PCC ruled that the articles had "unnecessarily intruded" on the privacy of Euan, who is now studying at Bristol University.

The Blairs have complained about an article in the William Hickey column in the 14 March edition of the Sunday Express. It included Nicky's alleged choice of subject.

A commission spokesman said it would initially act as a mediator between the newspaper and the Blairs. It would step in only to make an adjudication if they failed to reach an agreement. No timetable has been set, but PCC cases take an average of 32 days to resolve.

¿ Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former head of communications, will reveal on tonight's Parkinson that the Prime Minister's most annoying habit was playing the guitar while on the phone.