Cherie Blair has suggested that the Catholic Church’s strict stance on contraception is preventing some women from achieving more.

Despite being a staunch Catholic, the wife of the former Prime Minister has repeatedly expressed her support for contraception and admitted to using it.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Mrs Blair suggested that contraception had been crucial to allowing her to pursue a successful career as a barrister.

“I feel if you look at what progress women have made in the world, one of the reasons is because they have been able to control their fertility,” she said.

“I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, and indeed with that (ability) to control I wouldn’t have been able to achieve the things that I’ve been able to do.”

She added, “Personally, I would prefer it if the Catholic Church took a more positive attitude towards contraception because I think there’s a lot of difference between preventing a life coming about and actually extinguishing a life when it has come about.”

Mrs Blair was at the festival to promote her autobiography, Speaking for Myself, in which she tells of conceiving her youngest son, Leo, when she forgot to bring her contraception on a stay at Balmoral.