Connaught Square - Blair's Residence

Blair's Residence

In October 2004, the then Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie purchased a house on the West side of Connaught Square, for a reported £3.5million. In many ways Blair's house is similar to 10 Downing Street, having even been used as a replica for the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury during the filming of the TV series "The Alan Clark Diaries". It has been speculated that part of the house is to be converted into offices for a future Blair Foundation. The houses on the west side back onto Archery Close, a very quiet, dead end picturesque mews street. Beyond Archery Close is St George's Field, built on the site of the burial ground of St George's, Hanover Square.

There is now a considerable police presence around the Blairs' residence, with at least four officers from the Metropolitan Police Service's Diplomatic Protection Group present at the house at any one time. With Blair's resignation in 2007, there has been controversy over security arrangements in the square, specifically over the cost of providing high-level security 24 hours a day.