Barack Obama will bid farewell to Europe with a stopover in London that has been causing angst in Downing Street because of fears that David Cameron may steal the thunder from Gordon Brown.

In contrast to Berlin, where-hundreds of thousands of fans turned out to see the Democrat nominee-presumptive, the London leg of the tour will be conducted almost entirely out of the public view. Mr Obama will largely be meeting political leaders, Labour and the Conservatives having been engaged in high-wire negotiations to win the “battle of the photo opportunity”. It looks like the Tories have secured the better photo spot, despite there having been no firm plans for a meeting with the party leader as recently as ten days ago.

Mr Obama, who will arrive from Paris late tonight, will receive Tony Blair, now the Middle East peace envoy, first thing tomorrow morning, talking to the former Prime Minister – who is much better known in the US than Mr Brown – about climate change and the Palestinian situation.

He will then make his way to Downing Street for breakfast with Mr Brown.

Strict protocol requires Mr Brown not to appear on the steps of No 10 standing next to Mr Obama, because he did not do the same for John McCain, the Republican nominee, when he was here in May. Instead the handshake and farewell photographs will be taken inside, and Mr Obama will leave No 10 on his own to address the press.

He will then travel by car to the Houses of Parliament for his meeting with Mr Cameron, in the Conservative leader’s office overlooking the Thames.

The choreography of this switch-over caused high tension this week when Mr Obama’s advisers informed Downing Street that Mr Cameron would “collect” him on foot and they would walk the few yards to Parliament. That would provide a huge “spontaneous” photo opportunity that Mr Brown would be unable to match. The Obama team withdrew the suggestion after high-level representations from senior government figures.

The Conservatives are still on course for the better photo opportunity after Andy Coulson, the party’s director of communications, took over the negotiations. Mr Cameron is to be pictured with the presidential candidate walking down the cloister of New Palace Yard in the Palace of Westminster. This is the same shot taken of Mr Cameron and Mr McCain in May – and provides a better backdrop than a Downing Street fireplace.

The Democrat nominee has rebuffed all requests for British media interviews, having also barred nonUS media organisations from travelling with him. Instead he will record an interview with Tom Brokaw, of NBC, for broadcast as he flies back to Chicago.

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