Full details on gifts received by Blair in office

GORDON BROWN is to embark on a house clearance at No 10 to sweep away the stash of gifts that were accumulated by Tony Blair while on his forays around the globe.

Brown is preparing to auction more than 160 presents received by Blair during his decade in office and to donate the money to charity. The sale, which is expected to raise about £150,000 for good causes, will include 20 watches – including 16 given by Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister – 18 handwoven Middle Eastern rugs, a G8 dressing gown and two Omani daggers.

The piles of gifts, now being stored in Downing Street, are taking up too much space, according to government insiders, and Brown is keen to dispose of them to establish a more modest approach. He received a bomber jacket from George W Bush during his visit to Camp David last August, but failed to wear it in Bush’s presence.

Also due to be auctioned are dozens of tokens of respect from foreign leaders, including a £4,000 Segway electric scooter presented by the King of Jordan, a nativity scene presented by Yasser Arafat, and £195 bottles of Château Mouton Rothschild from President Chirac of France.

Not all the gifts that Blair received during his 10 years in office will go under the hammer. Under ministerial rules he was allowed to take home any gift worth more than £140, if he paid the full market price from his own pocket. He kept a 12-piece tea and coffee set given by President Vladimir Putin, for which he paid £300, and a £500 fountain pen given to him by Chirac.

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