Tony Blair's globetrotting farewell tour cost the taxpayer more than £750,000, Government figures showed yesterday.

The Conservatives accused the former Prime Minister of a 'huge vanity tour' as he spent his final months in power burnishing his reputation at home and abroad.

Mr Blair made nine overseas political visits between April and June last year when he finally quit Downing Street. The last lap of world cities, including meetings with George W Bush and the Pope, cost £724,686, yesterday's figures revealed.

An audience with His Holiness: Tony Blair poses alongside Pope Benedict XVI in the private library of the Vatican during his farewell tour

On top of that were 18 trips taking in sites across Britain. No costs were given for these, but Whitehall sources said they could easily top £1,500 each - taking the total price of the farewell tour above £750,000.

That compares with Gordon Brown's travel bill of around £1million for his first nine months in charge, including 13 trips abroad and 47 UK visits.

Most expensive was a trip by Mr Blair and 18 officials to Washington to see his friend President Bush, which cost £319,100. Mr Blair's four-day tour of Africa with a team of 30, had a £314,755 price tag.

Downing Street insisted that all the visits were part of legitimate Government business. But Tory Cabinet spokesman Chris Grayling said: 'It looks as if Tony Blair's farewell tour was a huge vanity affair paid for by the taxpayer. Frankly, the money could have been spent in a better way.'

Then-Prime Minister Tony Blair meets Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi at his desert base outside Sirte south of Tripoli

Yesterday's figures also showed the cost of ferrying ministers around in 87 chauffeur-driven cars is more than £6million a year.

And taxpayers forked out almost £6million on ministers' special advisers last year, including half a million in payouts for Mr Blair's aides, who Mr Brown did not want on his team.

Despite promises of an end to spin after the Blair years, the number of ministerial aides rose under Mr Brown from 68 to 73 by last November, while the number of No10 advisers rose from 18 to 24.

Mr Brown has been more prudent over gifts he has received as Premier-with figures showing yesterday-he chose not to keep any.

To keep presents costing over £140 - such as a leather bomber jacket from President Bush - he had to use his own money. So instead he chose to let the Office of the Prime Minister retain them.

By contrast, yesterday's list showed that Mr Blair paid £500 out of his own pocket to keep a picture given to him by Mr Bush.

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