Honorary degree for Cherie

Mrs Blair, who has campaigned on issues such as employment rights and the Taleban's treatment of women and famously said suicide bombers felt they had "no hope but to blow themselves up", came to the university on Wednesday.

Mrs Blair was honoured as a Doctor of Laws, under her maiden name Cherie Booth for her contribution as a leading human rights lawyer.

She told an audience of 800 students to use their education as a launch pad for the rest of their lives, and praised Roehampton University for its dedication to the teaching of human rights.

Mrs Blair said: "Human rights are not the preserve, as is increasingly suggested, of those in far-off lands or in prison. They belong to us all. They affect the way we are treated by local authorities, as well as the police, by schools as well as the courts, in this country every bit as much as in those without the protection of the rule of law.

"As a barrister who specialises in the field of human rights, I believe this university should take great pride in the role it is playing to get this important message over."

"You have a fine tradition, of course, to uphold as your founding colleges were among the first in the country to educate women. I am sure those women pioneers would be thrilled to learn how Roehampton continues to make education accessible to as many people as possible, here in the UK and abroad."

Gwen Nurse became the oldest female PhD graduate in the university's history.

She completed her thesis, Competitive Ballroom Dancing as a Social Phenomenon: An Anthropological Approach, at the grand age of 73.

Accepting her PhD, she said: "There wasn't really the time to do my PhD when I was working, and now that I have finally achieved it I can't quite believe it."

Dorothy Bell, who was principal of the university's Digby Stuart College from 1968 to 1989, was honoured as a Doctor of the University for her contribution to the institution in Roehampton Lane.