Former 'Cheriegate' conman Peter Foster is sentenced to three years in jail for his role in weight loss scam

Foster in hiding for four weeks after failing to attend court for sentencing

Also found guilty of contempt of court after failing to meet two-hour deadline

Said he would emerge once he could be sure his mother would be cared for



Peter Foster was sentenced to three years' prison for his forbidden role in the weight loss industry

Conman Peter Foster - the figure at the centre of the 2002 'Cheriegate' scandal - was sentenced to three years in prison in his absence today for his forbidden role in the weight loss industry.



Foster, 51, has been in hiding for four weeks after failing to attend court in Brisbane, Australia, for sentencing for continuing to support a weight loss company.



The judge then found him guilty of contempt of court after he failed to meet a two hour deadline to turn up.



While in hiding, he said in a phone call from somewhere in southern Queensland that he would be ready to give himself up once he could be sure that his aging mother, Lou Foster, would be cared for.



In sentencing Foster - the former boyfriend of Cherie Blair's fitness guru Carole Caplin - the court ordered that he should serve at least 18 months of the three year sentence.



The court had been told that Foster had been involved in a scam involving a weight loss nasal spray in 2009.



A warrant for his arrest, initially put in place after he first failed to appear in court, has now been renewed.



Foster's lawyer, Terry Fisher, said after Foster's non-appearance today that he had withdrawn his representation.



He said he had been in touch with Foster, but he did not know where he was.



'Yes, I have had contact with him,' said Mr Fisher.

Then, in suggestion that he might have had a computer video-chat with the conman, added: 'The last I saw him there was a palm tree waving in the background, so I'm not sure where he is.'



When Foster first failed to face Justice John Logan in the Supreme Court last month it was revealed he had written a letter to the judge explaining he was arranging appropriate care for his ailing mother.



But he has not been seen by police or court officials since that time, although he told a journalist who spoke to him by phone that he had every intention of showing up at the court today for sentencing.



Again, he failed to arrive - and it was then that his lawyers, barrister Liam Burrow and solicitor Terry Fisher, announced they would no longer be representing him.

HOW 'CHERIEGATE' UNFOLDED IN 2002

Peter Foster and his girlfriend Carole Caplin, who was a close friend of Cherie Blair, in 2002 In 2002, it was alleged but later denied that Cherie Blair, the wife of prime minister Tony, bought two flats with the assistance of Peter Foster, a convicted Australian conman.

A boyfriend of her friend, Carole Caplin, he allegedly negotiated a discount for Mrs Blair on the properties.

She later apologised for the connection in an address on live television. The prime minister's wife choked back tears live on air and asked for understanding over her dealings with Foster, saying: 'I'm not Superwoman.'

Mr Burrow said he would be facing 'professional embarrassment' if he continued to keep Foster as his client.



Before withdrawing their services, the lawyers handed to the judge a bundle of correspondence they had received from the conman, who has frequently boasted of being jailed on three continents, his crimes all related to the slimming industry.



David Kent, representing the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, told the court he was struggling to find where Foster had ever held a legitimate job and described him as a 'career criminal, distilled to its essence.'

In 2002, it was alleged but later denied that Cherie Blair, the wife of British prime minister Tony, bought two flats with the assistance of Peter Foster, a convicted Australian conman

C ourt observers said Mr Kent appeared visibly appalled at Foster's record - which has focused entirely on the weight loss industry - as he said the conman wore his reputation as a 'badge of honour'.



He referred to Foster's website in which he describes himself as 'an international man of mystery'.



The judge said it appeared to have a 'buccaneer quality'.



I t was the commission that had initial brought Foster to court because he had breached a 'no involvement' order in the weight loss industry.



It was claimed - and has since been proved - that Foster was involved in a so-called slimming nasal spray called SensaSlim.

