Tony Blair brings down the curtain on his decade as Prime Minister today as he announces a departure plan that will see him leave office towards the end of June.

But for much of his remaining six weeks in power Mr Blair will be absent from Downing Street, with at least five overseas trips planned for later this month and June. What aides are calling his farewell tour will begin tomorrow with a trip to Paris to see Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president-elect.

As he goes to the French capital Gordon Brown will be launching his campaign to succeed Mr Blair and will receive the long-expected formal endorsement from the outgoing leader.

Next week Mr Blair is likely to visit Washington for the last time as Prime Minister to see President Bush, the other half of the partnership that many Labour MPs and activists blame for bringing an earlier than necessary end to Mr Blair’s career because of the unpopularity of the war with Iraq.

Later this month Mr Blair heads to Africa for a trip lasting several days as he underlines his commitment to a continent that has been one of his leading priorities. He will go to South Africa and several other African nations.

John Prescott, Mr Blair’s deputy who will announce his departure plans this weekend, is already being lined up to stand in for him at Commons Question Time and other domestic events.

During these weeks Mr Brown will be out at Labour Party election hustings and public meetings outlining his vision for the country and some of his plans for government.

Mr Blair will wind up his premiership with two crucial international meetings — the G8 world economic summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, on June 6, 7 and 8, which is expected to be dominated by a new deal on climate change — and the European Council summit in Brussels on June 21-22, when Mr Blair and other leaders will try to restrain Germany’s ambitions for a treaty reviving the failed European constitution. He will leave office within days of that meeting and Mr Brown, who will learn over the next few days whether he will face any challenge from the Left, will take over.

At 9am today Mr Blair will finally tell his Cabinet what they already know — that he is triggering a contest for the Labour leadership and bowing out within weeks.

After what everyone expects to be a very short meeting he will fly up to his constituency of Sedgefield, Co Durham — nothing will be said in Downing Street — to make his public announcement. Back in Trim-don Labour Club, where Mr Blair announced he was running for the Labour leadership in 1994, he will speak of his Government’s achievements, almost certainly his wish that it could have done more and his certainty that the party must stay new Labour to succeed in winning a fourth term. Aides expect much of the speech to be off the cuff and “from the heart”.

David Cameron mocked Mr Blair’s administration yesterday as a “government of the living dead” after a spate of reports this week suggesting that Mr Brown would axe a number of ministers. He claimed there would be “another seven weeks of paralysis” but Mr Blair told him not to be too “cocky” about last week’s local election results, and said that he would be concentrating on policies on education, health and law and order. Downing Street pointed out that the next few weeks would keep Mr Blair and other ministers well occupied. There will be two new policy statements from No 10 on the role of the state and families. The prospectuses for a new wave of city academies will be introd-duced, as will White Papers on streamlining the planning process and energy security.

In addition, there will be new legislation on seizing the assets of criminals and counter-terrorism.

Michael Meacher and John McDonnell, the two potential left-wing leadership candidates, will meet today to determine who has the most supporters and who has therefore won the right to try to mount a challenge against Mr Brown.

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