Cherie Blair has conveyed her sympathy to the grieving widow of have-a-go hero Tasawar Hussain.

The distraught mother-of-two met the premier's wife on a visit to Downing Street yesterday after being invited to collect an award on behalf of her courageous husband.

Tasawar, 36, was murdered last January after giving chase to two robbers after a £40,000 raid at a travel agent's in Manningham.

His wife Naila, 36, with the couple's children, Haarisah, seven, and one-year-old Rafia, visited No 10 before attending the Police Bravery Awards.

"It was nice to meet Cherie Blair and we spoke for quite a while," said Naila, of Lidget Green, who has been devastated by the tragic loss of her husband.

"She was interested in how I was doing and was concerned about the children," she said. "She also tried to encourage me to get on with my life. It was really nice but, obviously, it was hard knowing the reason why we were there.

"I just did it for the children and for Tassy and I'm sure he was with us."

Courageous Tasawar yesterday became the first person to be posthumously presented with the Jill Dando Award, named after the murdered BBC Crimewatch presenter.

The bravery award coincided with a judgement by law lords to reject an appeal by Tasawar's killers to reduce the minimum term they serve.

Father and son Derek Elener, 65, of Reevy Road, Buttershaw, and Barry Elener, 42, of Freshfield Gardens, Allerton, were both given life sentences for Tasawar's killing. Yesterday their bid to cut their minimum tariffs of 25 years for Derek and 27 years for Barry failed.

Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf told the court: "We regard these crimes as very serious indeed and as certainly justifying starting points of 30 years. They display a total disregard for human life."

Of Derek Elener's minimum sentence, he said: "His age means he could never leave prison. However, for a professional crime of this nature, whatever your age, you must still be severely punished."

Naila welcomed the ruling. She said: "I am just happy it has not been reduced because that would have destroyed me, as though what my husband did had all being for nothing.

"But if it was up to me it would have been increased.

"As far as I am concerned, they should have had the death sentence for what they have done to me and my children. I hate them."