Blair's farewell tour to call at the Vatican

Tony Blair will meet the Pope as part of his "farewell tour" before stepping down as Prime Minister.

News agencies in Rome have reported that Mr Blair will travel to Italy later this month or in early June to meet Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

An audience with Pope Benedict is believed to have been scheduled for June 2, although Vatican sources said the date was not definite.

The trip will fuel speculation that Mr Blair, an Anglican, may convert to Roman Catholicism after he leaves office on June 27. His wife Cherie is a practising Catholic.

He has previously visited Pope Benedict XVI and his predecessor John Paul II in Rome.

The Prime Minister's farewell tour has already taken him to the United States, France and Iraq, as well as a number of visits around the UK by helicopter.

Further top-secret foreign jaunts are planned for the coming weeks.