Sven and Ulrika dodge questions on 'secret affair'
Tony Blair's right-hand man Alastair Campbell may have been the man who introduced Sven Goran Eriksson and Ulrika Jonsson for the first time.
Downing Street was unable to comment on reports that No 10's director of communications and strategy introduced the Swedish pair in December.
They apparently met at a party for Express owner Richard Desmond in London's Roundhouse where Mr Campbell was present.
Mr Campbell told The Times: "I was in a group of people including Ulrika Jonsson when Sven-Goran Eriksson walked by. I said to her, 'Here's another Swede for you to talk to'."
Eriksson and Jonsson have been dodging the media following reports that they have begun a relationship.
Speculation intensified after Jonsson's agent, Melanie Cantor, refused to deny a story in the Daily Mirror linking the Swedish duo.
Nor was it damped down when Paul Newman, head of communications for the Football Association, said only: "This is entirely a private matter."
The alleged relationship between the 34-year-old mother-of-two and the 53-year-old architect of England's World Cup qualification followed their meeting at an exclusive party in London some months ago, according to the newspaper.
Father-of-two Eriksson has been in a relationship with Italian lawyer Nancy Dell'Olio for the past three years and she watched from the stands as Sven's England team defeated Paraguay 4-0 at Liverpool's Anfield ground.
