Philip Bassett is mainly mentioned not in connection with Tony Blair and his political work, much less with Iraq, but rather because of his wife, Lady Symons. The couple, already partners for 17 years and the parents of a son, were considered a golden couple of their political party, as well as Downing Street when they decided to marry: She, a baroness and defense minister, and he, a Downing Street adviser, living together in a "GBP 750,000 country home" as well as an apartment in Westminster. Bassett worked as a labour correspondent at The Times before becoming a part of Blair's "inner circle." In February of 2001, the couple ran into scandal and difficulty with the church where their wedding ceremony was to be performed when it was discovered that Lady Symons had been previously married and divorced, a fact that had been kept securely secret up until that point. They again found trouble in late 2005 after leaving Downing Street. Lady Symons was criticized for taking several extravagant positions, some with influential political and lobbying ties. At this point, Bassett had become "the special advisor to the Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs."