Mystery of the Blairs' £50,000 holiday at Gibb home deepens

The question of is he or isn't he (paying for his holiday) continued to plague Tony Blair as he soaked up the Florida sun.

As travel experts on either side of the Atlantic added up the sums, it became clear the Prime Minister's brief jaunt on the other side of the pond would ordinarily cost something in the region of £50,000.

But how far Mr Blair was forced to dig into his own pockets and how much was more a matter of a nod, a wink and a donation to charity became a matter for ferocious debate.

Mr Blair's hair-raising landing at Miami on Tuesday - after Flight 209 overshot the runway - had announced his arrival in a spectacular manner, giving away the secret of his eventual destination. It was swiftly established that the Blairs would be staying in a mansion belonging to the former Bee Gee Robin Gibb, the man the Labour leader called a "hero" upon meeting at a Huddersfield rally in 2005. As is traditional where the Prime Minister's holidays are concerned, the question of who was paying for what came up.

Downing Street remained adamant yesterday that accommodation in the £5.2m, 10-bedroom mansion had been paid for in a "private commercial arrangement". Mr Gibb's wife, Dwina, was reported to have said the couple had neither asked for, nor accepted, money.

The singer's co-manager John Campbell added: "It's a private holiday and it's a private arrangement. They are friends."

However, sources insisted Mr Campbell had originally accepted payment on a commercial basis from Mr Blair, but that the Gibb family had chosen to donate the cash to a charity. What still remained unclear was whether this payment was simply a token of gratitude, or the full going rate for such a Miami Beach property. Similar mansions go for amounts ranging from £7,500 to £40,000 a week.

Certainly, first-class return flights to Florida on BA for Mr and Mrs Blair and what was reported to be their three younger children would have set them back £34,406. But one airline source insisted they were much more likely to have paid the total economy fair of £2,315. The source added: "It is completely implausible that they would have paid the published fare for a journey like that. The standard practice would be for them to book economy tickets and then be upgraded to the front of the plane."

The latest saga provided fodder for bookmakers. William Hill was already offering odds on which personality would host the Blair's next family holiday - with the newly knighted Bono and the old favourite Sir Cliff Richard leading the field at 2/1.