Tony Blair's 'farewell tour' cost taxpayer £700,000
- added July 22, 2008
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Tony Blair's "farewell tour" before quitting office cost taxpayers more than £700,000, it was revealed today.
Figures show that the former Prime Minister's final lap of world capitals was probably the most expensive prime ministerial itinerary ever - despite him being only weeks from retirement.
Mr Blair made nine trips abroad in his last three months in office, costing a total of £724,000. The highlights were a tour of the United States, a trip to the G8 summit in Germany, a high-profile visit to Tripoli to meet President Gadaffi, and a trip to the Vatican to meet the Pope.
His globe-trotting was mocked by David Cameron as "like a pop star" and dubbed "the long kiss goodbye".
Travelling to Washington, with 18 Government officials in tow, cost £319,100, while the Libyan leg, complete with 30 officials, was even more expensive, coming in at £314,755.
Mr Blair also dashed to Paris, Warsaw and twice to Berlin to negotiate the Lisbon Treaty and also attended European Council summits. For trips to Brussels, he flew in an RAF jet rather than taking the Eurostar.
The biggest bill was for a pre-Christmas-trip covering both Iraq and Afghanistan to meet troop commanders on the ground and political leaders, including President Karzai. It cost £222,100.
A separate trip to Baghdad and Basra cost £197,600, while his tour of China and India cost £195,789. The fourth most expensive was his first trip to the USA as Prime Minister, which cost £117,530.
Um, I'm sorry, but who did he 'bid farewell' to on my, the tax payer's, behalf? Personally, I wish he hadn't said any goodbyes and had left the job a lot earlier. In 1998, for example. Or perhaps he could have gone to Iraq to fight alongside the soliders he sent there for a phoney war? That would certainly have been a dramatic goodbye.
Are these kinds of costs justified for a public figure like a Prime Minister (regardless of whether they're a greasy, grinning toad or not), or should MPs and politicans be forced to take the cheapest option for travel and trips when they're spending public money, as most of the public (thanks to a lack of money) have to?
Figures show that the former Prime Minister's final lap of world capitals was probably the most expensive prime ministerial itinerary ever - despite him being only weeks from retirement.
Mr Blair made nine trips abroad in his last three months in office, costing a total of £724,000. The highlights were a tour of the United States, a trip to the G8 summit in Germany, a high-profile visit to Tripoli to meet President Gadaffi, and a trip to the Vatican to meet the Pope.
His globe-trotting was mocked by David Cameron as "like a pop star" and dubbed "the long kiss goodbye".
Travelling to Washington, with 18 Government officials in tow, cost £319,100, while the Libyan leg, complete with 30 officials, was even more expensive, coming in at £314,755.
Mr Blair also dashed to Paris, Warsaw and twice to Berlin to negotiate the Lisbon Treaty and also attended European Council summits. For trips to Brussels, he flew in an RAF jet rather than taking the Eurostar.
The biggest bill was for a pre-Christmas-trip covering both Iraq and Afghanistan to meet troop commanders on the ground and political leaders, including President Karzai. It cost £222,100.
A separate trip to Baghdad and Basra cost £197,600, while his tour of China and India cost £195,789. The fourth most expensive was his first trip to the USA as Prime Minister, which cost £117,530.
Um, I'm sorry, but who did he 'bid farewell' to on my, the tax payer's, behalf? Personally, I wish he hadn't said any goodbyes and had left the job a lot earlier. In 1998, for example. Or perhaps he could have gone to Iraq to fight alongside the soliders he sent there for a phoney war? That would certainly have been a dramatic goodbye.
Are these kinds of costs justified for a public figure like a Prime Minister (regardless of whether they're a greasy, grinning toad or not), or should MPs and politicans be forced to take the cheapest option for travel and trips when they're spending public money, as most of the public (thanks to a lack of money) have to?
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