Hillary: I was too busy to suspect Bill

Published on Sunday 6 July 2003 01:00

HILLARY Clinton jokes with her daughter Chelsea as she signs copies of her autobiography as part of her UK tour.

America’s former First Lady was in Oxford yesterday to promote Living History, in which she reveals her presidential ambitions and her feelings about Monica Lewinsky.

Clinton said yesterday she had no plans to run for the 2004 American presidency, but she remained circumspect about entering the race in 2008.

She said she hoped her country would elect a woman leader during her lifetime and jokingly suggested the politician’s partner could be called "First Mate".

The tour to promote her memoirs has seen fans turning up in droves to book-signing sessions, including hundreds in Piccadilly, central London.

Clinton also said yesterday that she had not suspected her husband Bill’s now-infamous infidelity with White House intern Lewinsky, because the couple "were so busy".

She added: "I heard the rumour. I asked Bill about it. He said no, and I believed him. So, yes, he lied to me and, yes, that took a long time to forgive."

In her autobiography, Clinton concludes that what her husband did was morally wrong but not a betrayal of the public. She said he had made a mistake of weakness rather than malice.

Yesterday Clinton added: "I stayed with my husband because I love him. I have always admired him as a man and as a President. He did great things for our country. We were doing good things."

Chelsea Clinton, 23, took her final exams at Oxford University last month, for her degree in international relations. She has followed after her father, who studied there as a Rhodes Scholar.