Tony orders up his new personal executive jet - for £30m
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Your support makes all the difference.Tony Blair is to announce within weeks that he has overruled Gordon Brown and will push ahead with the purchase of a £30m long-haul business jet.
The Prime Minister is determined to replace the ageing fleet of aircraft that ferries senior ministers and the Royal Family around the world.
Mr Blair was criticised last week for using the Queen's Flight "like a personal taxi service" after freedom of information disclosures showed the frequency with which he uses RAF 32 Squadron. The fleet has carried him and his family to a string of private holidays as well as to party political events, according to Ministry of Defence figures.
However, far from being abashed by the revelation, Mr Blair remains determined that Britain should update its VIP air arm to include at least one long-range corporate jet.
He is being backed strongly by the Royal Family in a battle with the Treasury, which has balked at the £30m price tag. Mr Brown let it be known last November that the cash would have to be found from No 10's coffers.
A senior Downing Street source gave a strong hint that Mr Blair had won the tussle and that the announcement was imminent. "It won't be a matter of months, not least because the current fleet is now so old," he told The Independent on Sunday.
Mr Blair may be tempted to present the new jet as a gift to the Queen on her official birthday on 12 June.
The field of candidates for the jet - which will inevitably be dubbed Blair Force One - has been narrowed to two potential planes, an Airbus A320 and a Boeing 737.
Teams representing hopeful manufacturers have made secret presentations to the Cabinet Office in recent months.
Industry speculation suggests that Mr Blair may resist calls to buy British and go for the US-made plane, a move that would add extra controversy to the purchase.
Whichever wins, the new corporate jet will be fitted to carry around 40 passengers in luxurious comfort. Standard VIP layouts include at least one bedroom, an entertainment suite and a full-sized conference table.
Neither could hope to compete with the US presidential plane, Air Force One, however. The giant triple-decked Boeing VC-25 even has its own gym.
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