Blair 'converting to Catholicism'

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The former prime minister, whose wife Cherie and four children are Catholic, has long been expected to join the church after quitting Downing Street.

According to The Tablet, a Catholic magazine, he is to be received into the church shortly by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster.

Mr Blair is thought to have delayed converting until after leaving Number 10 because of the potential constitutional complications of a Catholic prime minister.

He was also advised to avoid religion in public by his former chief spin doctor Alastair Campbell, who famously commented: "We don't do God."

A spokesman for Mr Blair, who has been a Middle East peace envoy since retiring as prime minister in June, said: "This is just the same old speculation that I'm not commenting on."

Meanwhile, Mr Blair has received a mixed response this week in China, where he has been employed in speaking engagements.

Local media have raised questions about the cost of his speeches and their value for money.

The Guangzhou Daily News claimed one speech, in Dongguan City, near Hong Kong, cost £237,000 - worth £156,000 to Mr Blair after tax - and described the visit as "money-raking".

The China Youth Daily said: "To be honest, Mr Blair's speech sounds so familiar. It's just like the report of any Chinese county level official and contains no novelty. If the local political and business circles paid such a high price for a speech they could have made themselves, was it worth it?"