I blame the apologists who write about Bliar in the national press and media and those around him and his inner circle who protect him from criticism and the truth. Bliar has no real idea how much he is detested in the UK.

If he goes on his world tour as the Messiah on his second visit to earth, I hope one of the countries he visits offers him assylum.

Bliar is only one man - to network his spin and dogma he needs a whole entourage of people, and they are all there in the shadows. I am sure that includes and has included Gordon Brown. No wonder Brown is quiet and keeps his head down.

When Gordon Brown becomes PM he will be Bliar Mark 2 and when/if David Cameron becomes PM he will be Bliar Mark 3.

If Milliband ever becomes leader of the Labour Party and subsequently PM it will be Bliar Mark 4.

Will it ever end ?

ian payne, LICHFIELD - STAFFS, ENGLAND

Like everyone on earth, you have made some big mistakes, Mr Blair, but you will be very sorely missed and this will be increasingly evident as time rolls on.You are a unique, highly articulate, internationally respected politician and we are honoured and very fortunate to have had you as our P.M.

Pedro Tam, London, u.k.

people are quick to forget what saddam hussein done to his own people and there may have been a lot of mistakes afterwards but Mr Blair did not take us to war on his own, it was democratically decided through the House of Commons as elected by the public. that is the government that we have in this country and indeed it has to make tough decisons though they may not always be correct. let us not forget the peace that is now in Northern Ireland through the work that it took New Labour to accomplish.

I do not think Mr Blair a saint, but he is only a man and has tried to make a difference. it is too easy to blame all our problems of the last ten years on him, as Jesus said, 'let him without sin cast the first stone'

Seamus Murphy, Manchester, England

Bloody typical. Encapsulates all that went wrong with New Labour. Grandiose posturing, relentless self-promotion, cynical meaningless waste of taxpayers' money on a monstrous scale.

Andy Gee, London, UK

These plans are obscene. As taxpayers are we really expected to suffer the austere measures Brown, or any other political sucessor will have to meter to us, for the extravagance of the present government? Bring on the General Election, but in the interim, lets have some responsible govenrment.

tricia, warwick, UK

Without Mr Blair, the Labour Party would still be in opposition.

Brian Seals, Scarborough, Nth Yorks, UK

It does not make sense that an outgoing leader have to personally say "farewell" to other world leaders, to be paid for by the British taxpayer. The telephone and email would be cheaper. What does he hope to achieve now, that he has not or should have already done in the last 10 years

Lorna Barakzai, Sutton, Surrey, UK

He should not pay for his leaving jaunt with tax money. Let him start a fund looking for voluntary donations, and see how far that gets him.

Douglas, Reading, UK

The worst Prime Minister and worst government we have ever had! Good riddance on his tour - don't let him come back.

Marshall Askew, Maidenhead, Berkshire.

No doubt he'll feel the Hand of History. .....

Being smacked firmly on the Bottom of Posterity

Pete , Edinburgh,

Why is that Prime Ministers never know when to go? Is it ego, or fear? If Tony Blair had gone after winning the last election, he would be remembered with affection, but like Margaret Thatcher, he just had to stay on a bit longer.
Well, we look back on Mrs Thatchers rule, now, with a mixture of pride and dislike, I wonder how we will look back on his years at No.10, in 2020.

Adrian Chandler, Nelson, New Zealand

Will Tony contribute more to global warming byhe emissions from the jets on this global gadabout, or by the hot air he emits in the speeches he makes to "justify" this taxpayer-funded freebie?

Cynosarges, London, UK

What ever people say, i think that Mr. Blair has been a good priminister. He has had some very tough decisions to make, and the majority of the time he has made the correct one. Yes the war in Iraq has been long and ongoing, the decision might have been made for the wrong reason, but the war needed to happen. Saddam Hussein was killing his own people by the thousand. I know that we shouldnt force our views on other people, or even nations, but Hussein needed to be stopped. I think that Tony Blair has done the best under the circumstances.

I have to be honest, I'm not really looking forward to any one else being priminister. I think that any one else that has the chance of being priminister will do an even worse job.

I commend Mr. Blair for his efforts and i think he has done well for this country.

Matt, Yeovil, UK

A lot of people in England would agree today (1) It is a matter of time before the final break up of the United Kingdom and (2) They are being coerced to living in a multi-racial sociery. Tony Blair's biggest legacy to the British people is : Britain will never be British again.

James Wong, Macau,

The Queen's visit to America called forth comment o her 'carbon footprint'.
Is Blair exempt from such comment on his farewell junket?

Livett, Shipley,

This wretched man has being playing "will she won't she" for far too long. This jetting around to see Heads of State who have better things to do than endure a non productive visit from a man with blood on his hands, has ruined the British way of life over the last 10 years and has given into the Terrorists in N.Ireland. The only Head of State he should visit is H.M.the Queen to tender his resignation TODAY. H.M. should then send for Brown a.s.a.p to prevent the waste of more valuable government time, Why should the British people & Government Ministers be left in limbo for weeks whilst Brown postures around the country?

Michael Boyd-Carpenter, Creyssac, France

Blair's party has just been anihilated in local elections in Wales and Scotland a week ago because of him, Iraq burns and now he goes on a publicly funded final farewell world tour as if he was a beloved entertainer.

Bob T, London, UK

Blair lost his way some years ago when he became more of a dictator than a caring, listening PM.

How can he justify "doing a world tour" when he supposedly supports measures to reduce global warming?

How can he sleep at night in the knowledge of the irrepairable damage he has supported in the Middle East?

How can he defend his massive proison building programme when a simple and beneficial solution for those committing 'soft crimes' (tax evasion, fraud, motoring offe4nces) would have been to make offenders do essential environmental work like canal restoration, footpath clearing/creation and other worthwhile projects whilst living at home rather than in prison costing us all £40,000 pa?

Was he blind when it came to looking at the problems of young people, a majority of whom have nowhere to socialise now that the Youth Service is a shadow of what it was decades ago.

Good bye Mr Blair.

David Denton, Belper, Prague, India, UK/Czech Republic/India

The foreign perspective (I’m a Brit living in France) on Tony Blair’s ten years is that he has indelibly marked world politics. Iraq is certainly on the debit side, but much is attributed to his credit. His Britain serves as a model (albeit there are others) for Europe, and his vision and achievements have had a strong effect on local politics here. For example the fact that at least 300000 dynamic French people have sought fortune or at least jobs across the channel has deeply hurt French pride. Tony is widely respected abroad, and he deserves his farewell tour.

Alan Depauw, Verrières-le-Buisson, France

Six weeks to wander the globe to accept praise and thanks from the populace. Who do you think you are? Frodo Baggins?
Trouble is, rather than cast the Evil ring into the fires of Mount Doom you placed it directly into the hands of Sauron.

Bobnessuk, London, England

Why is he going to all these meetings all over the world when he won't be here to carry anything through? Just another waste of time, money and energy and yet another excuse for Tony to go jobhunting while adding to his own carbon footprint.

edwardingle, chesham,

He did what he thought was best, the country is in a better state than 10 years ago who would argue against that? You cant, as a Leader please everyone but by remaining in power for 10 years he has clearly shown he had the suport of the majority and thats what counts ... let him have his final tour!

Damon Hill, london,

Blair was determined to cling on to power until after the G8 and European Council summits. That much he told us and, for once, he was telling the truth. He also couldn't leave until after his farewell party at Number 10 which has been planned for months. He wasn't about to cancel it. And now a "grand world tour" are our expense where, no doubt, he will promise everything and give nothing. He will spout off about climate change, disease prevention and poverty eradication and do nothing about them. Platitudes yet again from the mouth of the man who believes he is a saviour to the world. Despite pontificating about it, he never did anything to stop the killings in Darfur so why should we believe him now. The man is a hypocrite but, to give him his due, he's a good actor and can still convince people he's "whiter than white"!

Caroline Kennedy, San Jose, Costa Rica

I won't belive it till I see him, Cherie and the kids waving good bye from the steps of Downing St. Then we can really start the celebratory parties! Gone for good! Oh yes!

No more cheesy, stick on, pull off grin! No more "Oh, it's so tough being a PM. All those nasty decisions to be made."

Yes, Sir. Blair may have dragged Britain down through depths where society is fracturing, our kids are illiterate, the prisons are full and our hospitals are closing, but Blair will be gone and Britain can, perhaps, begin on the long road to partial recovery and remission,

Edwin Thornber, Bucharest, Romania

Will more global warming be generated by the jets he uses for his global gadabout, or be the hot air he expels in the speeches he makes to "justify" this freebie holiday?

Cynosarges, London, UK

Tony Blair betrayed his constituents and brought disgrace to his nation. He lied to the British people, he lied to the world and his War at any cost philosophy allowed him to step easily into the role of America's friend and Bush's flunky. He destroyed the Labour Party and then discarded it and its principles for his own self ego building mania.His participationin War Crimes should bring him to trial. He is low enough to be swept under the rug. Good riddance to him even though he is still feeding at the pork barrel on taxpayers money.

H,Greenwood, Vancouver,BC, Canada

Blair's real legacy is that the UK's competitiveness has not improved. He and his pal Brown have done enormous damage to the UK's long term economic prospects. The trade deficit in goods is over £80bn and growing, household debt is well over £1 trillion, house prices continue to rise, interest rates are on the way up, investment levels are muted and we've sold off or shut down most of our industry...

Interesting that one of the comments in the latest report on world competitiveness says that the US remains top of the tree because of the strength of its financial market and the ease with which venture capital for business development could be secured.

Here we have a strong financial market but finding VC funding is becoming increasingly difficult.

Dick, Aberdeenshire,

Seems only people outside the UK comment on his good deeds. Not surprising really when he has been such a failure. How difficult it must have been to tax us more and spend it. How amazing that we've got new schools and shorter waiting lists. How did he manage it?
I have no doubt he meant well and did some commendable things but his achievements are not really those of a great visionary, a revolutionist or simply a new way.
When he does sit back and reflect he'd do well to think about what a cop out and misleading liar he's been. The country deserved so much more.
Where are the politicians who dare to take difficult decisions and stand by them, where are the politicians that tell the truth - those are the ones I'll vote for. Perhaps, judging by voter apathy, i speak for many.

Richard, Leeds,

So much for his Carbon Footprint!! Not only a world tour but also a flight from RAF Northolt to his constituency to hand in his resignation - and the public at large are 'condemned' for going on hoilday abroad once a year. Might he also be drumming up business for his lecture tour?

Linda Ferguson, Pembroke, UK

Doubtless the hard-pressed taxpayer will be forced to underwrite the cost of all those trees that will have to be planted to off-set the Blairs' 'carbon footprint ' throughout this global jaunt.
That cost pales into insignificance when compared to the costs incurred by the Iraq War; the military costs and more importantly the human costs. Under Blair's premiership over the last ten years, billions of pounds have been mis-spent.
This country has been changed almost beyond recognition; the breakdown of society, the rise in violent crime, the collapse in educational standards, the rise in pointless political correctness, the sleaze, the break up of the United Kingdom through devolution and the crisis in the NHS.
These are just a few examples of Blair's miserable legacy: of course, his spin doctors will try and airbrush the facts out of the headlines over the coming weeks and months.

Rick, London, England

I always wondered why the world portrayed the British as a bunch of whinging pommes who would never be happy under any circumstances. Now i have left the U.K and i am on the outside looking in i can see why. Tony Blair has done far more good than bad during his time in office the press have done nothing but made his life hell for the past 12 months. The British people need to see that they have some of the best health care,legal system,transport sytems,local goverment system ect,ect in the world mostly brought about in the last 10 years. The British people and press will soon get bored with the next leader and i am sure the campain will begin again to oust whoever he or she may be.

Mr Nicholas mills, Cape Town, South Africa

We shall miss him. He has been a fine ambassador for this country. Sadly, people have forgotten the state of the country some 10 years ago. Public services were struggling, staff were poorly paid, people lived in fear of losing their jobs and homes, unemployment was high and we waited years for treatment from the NHS.

It seems that regardless of how good a PM we have, the media tires of them and this is transmitted to the public. I am sure the PM will be glad to rid himself of the character assassination from the red top press, the loony left of his own party, sacked ministers and citizens who have suffered memory loss. Although he has made mistakes often based on poor information, he has been an excellent PM and I will certainly miss him.

Jane Ashby, Spalding, England

It will be a fond farewell from me! I dread the return of antiquated Labour or the next me-generation of Tories. Tony has always had a rough ride from those who think they could do better - it's all too easy to swipe from the sidelines and take no responsibility (as the papers and the self-righteous critics here do). The country has become a better place to live over the past ten years, and I look forward to the next ten, fingers crossed, with Brown.

Mike R, Kingston upon Thames, UK

Dear Prime Minister,
Thank you for the 10 years of hard work you have given us,We hope you will enjoy the fruits of your toil in your retirement from leading our nation
gratefuly yours

james hazan, Huddersfield, uk

with Blair on a world tour paid for by the British taxpayer Brown goes on a UK tour on Labour party business, away from his desk and responsibilities paid for by whom? Will he be taking this as unpaid leave?

David Hartley, Wells, Somerset

They say he does not care,he isn't bothered about the North East of England and his constituents in Sedgefield.
I say "Does he know what is happening? His Ministers do not ,nor their advisors so how can he?

Global issues have upstaged local ones. I hope he will put that right before he leaves.No one else can do that.

Eizabeth Mann, DARLINGTON, DURHAM

What staggering arrogance. What makes him think the world wants a farewell tour from him? He is a busted flush, not a pop star.

James Elliott, Hove, UK

Will he be taking his guitar? Rock and politics meet!

loz , coventry, UK

What a poser! The resignation comes 10 years too late for most of us and none too soon for the millions of ordinary Iraqis killed or displaced by his 'liberation' (or was it 'obliteration') policy. Good riddance.

Phil, Hong Kong,

I agree with the above, he is yesterdays man the new man should be
making the visits. People heap praise on him as a great PM all one can say about the man is he has made England ungovernable by introducing
the European Charter on Human Rights which over rides all English
law. When he visits Mr Sarkozy he may be able to get him to introduce
it to France they don't believe in it only the silly English.

Barry Holmes, Christchurch, New Zealand

Good bye, As you depart and have a world tour on our tax pounds think about the death of hundreds of British soldiers and the thousands of innocent Iraqi people who died for your lack of wisdom and arrogance.
In my opinion.You behaved like a political sociopath.

I feel very let down by you, your spin and so called 'New labour' and will be glad to see the back of all of you.

Douglas , Crawley, W Sussex UK

Just go, and when you are in the country of your choice in the next 6 weeks stay and don't come back.

PS please take Gordon with you

John Holmes, Glasgow, Scotland

As the Arabs say,every stalion has a stumble.Unfortunately for Mr Blair ,his stumble was too massive to overshadow his acheivements. History will always remember Chirac's standing against Bush,and forget his shortcomings at home,while Blair will always be remembered as Bush's partner in the Iraq fiasco ,with no mention of what he did to turn Britain around.A cruel stance indeed.The lesson here is choose whom you go with,wisely.

Sam, Dallas, USA

A world tour - well that's not surprising is it? His 'leave them wanting more' audience is now practically non-existent in the UK. Most people there can't stand the sight of him. And so typical of the man - and his parasitic other half - to squeeze every last cent out of the British taxpayer before he goes.

Carol Robertson, Valencia, Spain

Another ''fact finding'' mission at our expense.

He's going to see the the world

- what's left after he's allowed it to be bombed senseless
(that includes Lebanon).

Useless man.
Useless to Britain.
Useless to the world.
Prime Minister of Britain. An opportunity wasted.

K Urban, London, UK

And so, to the very end, Mr. Blair thumbs his nose at the British people and leaves them in the hands of the hugely discredited and incompetent Mr. Prescott! Never in the annals of Downing St.have the offices been occupied by such little people. The true legacy of the Blair years is the complete transformation of Democracy into a Mediocracy!

Bill McCann, Suzhou, China

Egotistical to the last. Which world leader wants to use their time to meet the out-going rather than the in-coming prime minister? He would make better use of everyone's time by dissapearing for a holiday whilst the leadership contest works itself out.

James Stanworth, Tainan, Taiwan

There is one very suitable place for such a reckless and arrogant
person whose political decisions have killed and still are killing thousands of innocent people-THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT in the Hague

Bess, Uppsala , Sweden

Why can't he just go quietly? As in all things Blair he has got to make a big show of things. Just go Blair, knowing that your country wants to see the back of you and that most of those who voted for you (of which I am not one) wish they never had.

Wayne Morris, Port Talbot, Great Britain

Pity the poor British tax payer who, no doubt, will foot the bill for this grand tour.

A. Mathers, Hong Kong, China

One more jolly at our expense before hitting the lecture circuit for another ten million quid or so!

KR, Stockport,

Tony is a good guy and he has had good run of personal power. Until recently too much personal power. But at the end of the day New Labour is really no different from Old Labour. It is still the party of 'tax and spend' and cut the military, in the most dangerous of times, to the barest bones. The health service is still not right, crime is out of control, and it seems the first thought to solve all issues is to raise taxes. The middle, and working class, is constantly being squeezed from all sides making it tougher than ever to make ends meet. Family values has suffered greatly and it is easy to understand why. Britain is truly a great nation and its wonderful people deserve better.

Pat Welch, Cincinnati, USA

Hope that you will be more healthy and happier. You get a humane appearance.

Young, IKSAN CITY, KOREA

Tony Blair's tenure at No.10 has been pretty noteworthy – it’s has been an earnest attempt to shape a better world as humanly possible! So, like all human endeavours - it has had successes as well as glaring faults. At 54, he would still have a lot of time to reflect on them and see how he could have done differently. Hopefully, his introspections would guide the future leaders to tread their passions with greater maturity. With his incredible understanding of the world - he would make a great United Nation's Secy. Gen and contribute in making it an affective world body. But before that he deserves a long break from the limelight and recuperate from this decade long l'affair Blair;

with best wishes,

Rajeev Mehta, Auckland, NZ

Is this really a good use of tax payers' money? The man is leaving office - and not before time. Surely it would be more helpful for the UK for the incoming PM to make such visits.

Sue Shaw, Morpeth, UK