Cherie Blair does a G8 of her own

London: British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s wife, Cherie Blair, created a diplomatic faux pax of sorts.

She recently met a group of Russian opposition representatives and offered to help them to fight off a crackdown by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Sources were quoted by the Daily Mail as saying that Cherie offered free legal advice at her Matrix Chambers in London.

She was immediately accused of using the official trip to the G8 Summit to boost her own personal status as an international authority on human rights.

Husband Tony Blair's spokesman said later that her visit was organised as part of the British delegation's arrangements, effectively granting her ‘Blair semi-official’ status.

Putin apparently was furious when the British Ambassador in Moscow, Anthony Brenton, met opposition groups last week.

Kremlin officials described his action as "an unfriendly gesture".

A Russian diplomat in Moscow said that the Kremlin would take "grave exception" to Cherie’s meeting.

The meeting was organised by the pressure group Human Rights Watch and Civic Control, which campaigns for reform of the police.

Cherie believes that Putin’s crackdown threatens Russia's status as a civilised nation.