Cherie Blair says she was kicked down stairs by abuser

Cherie Blair has revealed that she was once pushed down the stairs by an 'entitled' and 'out of control' domestic abuser while she was representing his vulnerable victim, resulting in her having to be 'rescued' by court staff. 

In an interview with The Independent, the human rights lawyer and wife of former prime minister Sir Tony Blair, Ms Blair said the incident happened when she was a young barrister, and had just gotten a restraining order against the perpetrator. 

'As I came out of court, he followed me and he pulled me down the stairs and I had to be rescued by the court staff because he was so out of control,' she said, adding that the perpetrator 'believed he was entitled to behave that way' and that 'he was perfectly prepared to attack me too.' 

Ms Blair also noted that she has witnessed judges being attacked in court, telling The Independent: 'We have to challenge the in-built sexism which says that somehow women are not as entitled to respect by men.'

The barrister also spoke of the guilt she felt after one of her clients was killed by a violent partner because she went back home as she had nowhere else to go. 

'Could I have done more? It has stuck with me and remains with me ever since'. 

Ms Blair has been an advocate for domestic abuse victims throughout her career. 

She became involved with supporting survivors in 1976 during her early days as a lawyer, and said that her early work made her realize that 'the world was not as safe a place' as she thought. 

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Victoria Derbyshire reveals how her abusive father beat her and threw hot soup over her as a child

The Independent and domestic abuse organisation Refuge are running a Brick by Brick campaign, which aims to raise £300,000 to build a safe house for women fleeing their abusers, which Ms Blair has expressed support for. 

The lawyer's accounts come after broadcaster Victoria Derbyshire  shed a light on domestic abuse after she shared details of the appalling violence she endured at the hands of her abusive father, Anthony, who would throw scalding soup over her and beat her with a wooden spoon. 

The Newsnight host also spoke of her father putting his hands around her neck and pinning her against the pantry door in front of her screaming best friend.

Anthony would also inflict abuse on Derbyshire's mother, leaving her with a broken rib amid a terrifying campaign of violence.

Derbyshire acknowledged much progress has been made since then and how domestic abuse is handled by the police.