The Serbian government has hired the legal firm of Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, after the Dutch-owned United Group BV media company accused the “autocratic regime” in Belgrade of putting pressure on its Serbian-based company SBB in an attempt by the ruling party to increase its power, according to The Telegraph newspaper, quoted by Euractiv.

The London-based newspaper reminded its readers that for the last six years, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been advising the Serbian government through the eponymous Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, adding that the contract was initially funded by the United Arab Emirates.

The daily also said that last week Blair’s office confirmed that his not-for-profit organization deploys staff in Serbia “supporting the strategic implementation of modernization reforms.”

Recently, President Aleksandar Vucic has been labelled an autocrat and “populist strongman” amid claims that he is trying to strangle press freedoms and crack down on the opposition, the newspaper says.