Blairs throw Christmas bash for fed-up neighbours

Now, in an apparent charm offensive, Tony and Cherie Blair are throwing a Christmas party for the beleaguered residents of Connaught Square.

But the Blairs' festive cheer has not been extended to all their neighbours.

Hunt supporter Duncan Macpherson, who has lived in the square all his life, has not been invited to the bash - and fears it may have something to do with the protest he staged outside the Blairs' home last year.

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The barrister is also joint master of the Connaught Square Squirrel Hunt, the first hunt to be set up after the ban on bloodsports in 2005.

Claiming to be the world's only urban hunt, it has staged a series of events campaigning against the ban - and takes its name from the Blairs' residence in a bid to embarrass the former Prime Minister.

Mr Macpherson said: "I am just about the only one around here who has not been invited to the party.

"I have faced the same distractions and inconveniences from the Blairs' arrival as anyone else. My parents, who also live in the square, have received invitations - so I think it's safe to presume that it isn't because of some wrong our family has committed against them.

"I am assuming it is because I am a pro-hunting supporter. You would have hoped from their years in Downing Street that they would have been a bit more broadminded, but then they are a mass of contradictions, aren't they?"

The hunt has more than 25 members who ride through Hyde Park, with hounds, chasing a "squirrel" - which is actually an old sports sock.

The hunt's website says: "First, you must prepare your 'drag'. After various experiments, we discovered it doesn't need to look or smell anything like a squirrel."

The Blairs' party, on Saturday, December 1, is likely to be a far cry from the soirees they held while in Downing Street. Among the guests then were Oasis star Noel Gallagher and Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey.

A source close to the Blairs said last night they were hoping their Christmas party would mark a new beginning in neighbourly relations.

"It might sound rather unrealistic but Tony thinks a glass of sherry and a little bit of ex-Prime Ministerial charm will do the trick," she said.

"He and Cherie are also a really nice couple. When you get down to it, they just want to get on with people.

"Now that they are picking up the bills, the Blairs are having to be a little more circumspect," the source added.

A spokesman for Mr Blair said: "This event was only ever intended for garden committee members, which is a variation of a residents' committee. It is completely untrue that this gentleman was not invited because of his pro-hunting views."

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The Blairs bought their five-bedroom Georgian house for £3.65million in 2004 - it is now worth £5million.

When they belatedly moved into the square a few months ago, renovation work on the house was still far from complete.

Residents complained they had been told nothing about proposed security arrangements and voiced fears that Mr Blair was such a terrorist target that he was putting their lives at risk as well.

Last week 300 locals signed a petition, this time calling for a pedestrian crossing to be built on Connaught Street to prevent rubberneckers causing an accident.

There were also complaints about overzealous security guards questioning residents at gunpoint - with some of the Blairs' terrified neighbours being challenged just yards from their own front doors.