Cherie in human rights furore

Cherie Blair faced new controversy today over a trip to Malaysia because of its human rights record.

Campaigners and opposition leaders said she should either cancel a planned law lecture there or use it to condemn the Malaysian government's record on issues such as political prosecutions and beatings of suspects.

The row comes after Mrs Blair was criticised for earning £30,000 for a 90-minute question-and-answer session in Washington last week.

Malaysia has refused to sign key United Nations conventions on torture and civil and political liberties. Its record has been condemned by Amnesty International, whose most annual report last month reported that:

Malaysia also defends the death penalty - which Mrs Blair opposes - and it sentenced seven people to execution last year. The regime has been criticised over the rights of Muslim women and a lack of press freedom.

Malaysia's opposition leader, Lim Kit Siang, told the BBC that as a well known civil liberties lawyer, Mrs Blair should confront such issues.

The deputy leader of the country's conservat ive Islamic Party, PAS, said it would be inappropriate for her to speak if she planned to avoid the controversial topics.

A Downing Street spokesman could not say whether Mrs Blair was being paid for her law lecture in Kuala Lumpur.

The event is hosted annually by lord chief justice Sultan Azlan Shah, a royal.

Mrs Blair's trip has been criticised by Tory MPs over claims that billionaire Francis Yeoh, 47, was using her name to promote a shopping mall being developed by his company YTL. The company was investigated and cleared by British police over alleged bribery in a ?1.24 billion takeover of Wessex Water in 2002.

There was confusion over claims she would go to a grand opening of the mall - a purely commercial event - and had been offered a free holiday at a resort also owned by Mr Yeoh.

No 10 refused to give full details of the trip or say who was paying for her flights, arguing it was a private matter.

Shadow Commons leader Chris Grayling called for No10 to provide a full and immediate explanation of the trip and what it involves.