'Blair Force One' plan grounded

Tony Blair has scrapped plans for a customised jet to take him around the world, after reports of a rift with Chancellor Gordon Brown.

The £80 million airliner would have allowed the Prime Minister to travel in luxury, with state-of-the-art communications equipment and missile defences.

Ministry of Defence chiefs backed the proposed jet - dubbed Blair Force One - but the Treasury is understood to have objected to the cost. Mr Blair will have to make do with chartering commercial long-haul flights.

Original plans were for Downing Street and the royal family to have joint use of the customised plane, saving on costs, but the royal household made clear it saw the proposal as too expensive.

Mr Blair, who has come under Tory fire for his recent series of long overseas visits, would have faced charges of extravagance if he had gone ahead with a jet without the Queen's involvement.

The MoD was thought to have favoured a new Airbus A330. A converted RAF Tristar air-to-air tanker aircraft would have been a cheaper option.

The result would have been a scaled-down version of the two £120 million Boeing 747-200B jumbos which carry the US president around the world. Each uses the call sign Air Force One when he is aboard.

Brown warned over tax rises
Tories to field first transsexual