Gordon Brown led the Cabinet in an effusive goodbye to Tony Blair today, claiming that anything they achieved in future would be because they were standing on his shoulders.

The outgoing leader was presented with a painting of Chequers, a reminder of what he is leaving behind, and a standing ovation. The official country home in the Chiltern Hills will now pass to Mr Brown as the incoming Prime Minister - although he has already said that he is not planning to use it as a weekend retreat.

In reply, Mr Blair pledged his "unswerving support" to Mr Brown, at what was the last Cabinet meeting he will chair as Prime Minister.

"Gordon Brown said people would look back in 100 years time and see the achievements of the Prime Minister which had changed the country for the good," said a Downing Street spokesman, describing the scene.

“He said those achievements were historic and would prove to be enduring and amongst them he listed Northern Ireland, the way in which the Prime Minister had responded to 7/7 and the threat of terrorism, the Olympics, the minimum wage, the whole fairness agenda including civil partnerships, the way in which public services had been transformed and the Prime Minister’s leadership on the world stage - in particular on the issues of poverty and climate change at the G8.

“And he said: ’Whatever we achieve in the future will be because we are standing on your shoulders’.

“He said he personally was proud to have served both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister.”

John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, who was also attending his final Cabinet meeting before stepping down, was presented with a picture of Admiralty Arch, a gift also not without piquancy. Mr Prescott is alleged to have conducted a dalliance with his diary secretary, Tracey Temple, in his grace-and-favour apartment in the landmark building in central London.

Mr Blair is being lined up for a role as a Middle East peace envoy when he leaves office next week, it has emerged.

The Prime Minister is being mentioned as a possible envoy for the Quartet group of peacemakers: the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.

The New York Times reported today that President Bush and Condoleezza Rice endorse him for the post, and hope that Mr Blair will be able to lay the groundwork for a Palestinian state.

They see his job as working with President Abbas, to help him to build the institutions and apparatus necessary for a viable, independent Palestinian homeland.

Mr Blair is believed to be keenly interested in the role and has talked to Mr Bush about it. The White House and the State Department spoke glowingly about his credentials yesterday, although Downing Street declined to comment, and dismissed speculation as "premature".

James Wolfensohn, a former president of the World Bank, stepped down in April as international Middle East envoy for the Quartet.

A White House spokesman said: “Obviously Prime Minister Blair has been very active and deeply involved in Middle East peace issues throughout his prime ministership.”

He added: “It would not surprise me if they talked about what Prime Minister Blair would like to do after the end of his term, but we don’t have anything to announce today.”

David Welch, Assistant Secretary of State, the State Department’s leading diplomat for the Middle East, is in London and met Mr Blair yesterday.

The New York Times reported that Russia was grumbling about the appointment, but was unlikely to block it. Moscow is involved in a stand-off with Britain over the extradition of Andrei Lugovoy, who is wanted in Britain for the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent who was poisoned with radioactive material in a London restaurant.

Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, voiced support for Mr Blair playing a role. “Officials in the Prime Minister’s office are aware of the idea and Prime Minister Olmert is very supportive of Prime Minister Blair and of his continuing involvement in the Middle East and the peace process,” an Israeli government spokesman.

The role would be ironic, commented The New York Times, considering that it was Mr Blair's close support for President Bush and his war in Iraq that hurt him politically in Britain.

Incidents like Mr Bush's offhand greeting: "Yo, Blair!", as the Prime Minister was caught on microphone offering to act as his envoy to the Middle East during the Lebanon crisis last year, have helped to give Mr Blair the reputation of Mr Bush's poodle.

"Mr Blair is still wrestling with the perception that his American friend is still calling the shots at a time when Mr Blair is thinking about his own legacy," the newspaper commented.

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