TONY BLAIR finally interrupted his holiday last night to answer questions on the tsunami disaster — nearly a week after the tragedy.

The prime minister defended his decision to remain on holiday in an Egyptian resort despite calls from MPs to return to London and recall parliament.

Speaking from Egypt, he said that what at first seemed a “terrible tragedy” had now become “a global catastrophe”. Blair insisted he had been kept in touch “practically hourly” with events in the Indian Ocean after flying out on holiday a few hours after the earthquake.

“I think the main thing really is first of all to make sure we have the right response mechanism in place to deal both with the problem of British nationals that have been caught up in the tragedy, but also to deal with the humanitarian assistance,” Blair told Channel 4 News.”

He added: “Probably the most important thing for me to concentrate on is what are the implications now for the international community, in how we deal with the medium and long-term consequences of this.”

Blair said the total of international aid could run into billions of pounds and he praised Britons for their “absolutely extraordinary” generosity.

The prime minister faced growing pressure from his own MPs to cut short his holiday. One MP, who did not want to be named, said: “Tony Blair should have got on the first plane back and led the aid operation . . . He’s usually first to the jump on an emotional bandwagon — remember how he played the Princess Diana tragedy for all it was worth.”

But other MPs defended him. Tony Lloyd said: “He shouldn’t come back from holiday; he should be on the telephone making sure Hilary Benn (international development secretary) is working hard.”

• James Purnell, a government whip, has gone to Thailand to look for a friend feared missing. Hilary Armstrong, the chief whip, was also in the Maldives on holiday but is said to be fine.

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