Tony Blair reaches the crossroads

TONY Blair might, on first glance, appear an unlikely candidate to become a peace envoy to the Middle East.

The chaos and smoke plumes that continue to rise above Iraq symbolise his principal contribution to the stability of the area, critics argue - and he also refused to condemn last summer's assault on Lebanon by Israel.

And yet, by this time next week, the Prime Minister may well have handed over the keys to No 10 to become the White House's "point man" in the Middle East. Strictly speaking, the role of envoy to the Middle East is for the Quartet, which comprises the UN, the United States, the EU and Russia. But the US as usual, has the loudest voice. In the past few days, it seems to be calling Blair's name.

Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, reportedly suggested the idea several months ago and Mr Blair was said to have discussed it with George Bush during his final visit to Washington last month. Although Downing Street has refused to comment on the story, Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, expressed support for the idea, while the UN admitted the move was "under discussion".

It has been reported the new position would focus on the internal workings of a future Palestinian state, leaving delicate political negotiations to Ms Rice. Mr Blair has, in the past, offered to pave the way for the US.

At the G8 Summit at St Petersburg last summer, he was heard offering to fly to Lebanon, ahead of Ms Rice. The private conversation, overheard by journalists after radio mics had been accidentally left on, began with the US president beckoning the Prime Minister over with a swift "Yo, Blair".

Supporters of the Prime Minister argue that his success in Northern Ireland should be held up as his credentials, not the mess of Iraq, which is largely as a result of poor planning by the US. He has always believed in engaging with the Middle East and defended the importance of al-Jazeera, the Arabic news channel, against persistent US criticism. The role also fits into the Prime Minister's vision of a productive career as a senior statesman. One of his principal ideas is to launch an interfaith foundation that would draw together the main monotheistic faiths: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. As Prime Minister, he has always supported the creation of a Palestinian state and has persistently pushed Mr Bush to become more engaged with the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Yet there are those who regard him as unsuitable. Elizabeth Stewart, editor of Diplomat Magazine, said she would be surprised if the Russians backed Mr Blair's bid to be a Middle East envoy for the Quartet. "I think he will struggle to be effective because he has lost credibility in the region. Apart from Iraq, it is particularly his role in the Lebanon crisis last year, when he did not push for a ceasefire, that damaged his reputation. He is perceived as being biased towards Israel. That was shown when he appeared to give the Israelis freedom to try and get rid of Hezbollah and flatten southern Lebanon."

Angus Robertson, the SNP's foreign affairs spokesman at Westminster, said he would be hard-pushed to think of anybody less suitable. "Not withstanding his role in Northern Ireland, which has to be recognised, he is too closely associated with the illegal and immoral war in Iraq to deal with the full range of challenges in the Middle East. A politician from a neutral country, not aligned with controversial policy agendas and mistakes, would be more suitable."

On the streets of London yesterday, one Muslim said: "Surely he will go to the Middle East as an envoy and come back in a box, insh'Allah [God willing]."

Prime Minister ready to take final step as he meets Pope before his conversion to Catholicism

WHEN Tony Blair strides into the Vatican library this morning, he will take a few steps closer to his spiritual home.

Beneath the leather-bound volumes, religious portraits and heavy wooden cross, the Prime Minister will meet Pope Benedict XVI, with whom he is expected to discuss his plans to convert to Catholicism.

Part of the reason for Mr Blair's change of heart - he has been an Anglican - is his family. His wife Cherie and daughter Kathryn will join him at the papal audience. As Catholics, the family attend mass each week, but Mr Blair must sit out communion, which is denied to non-Catholics.

As Britain has never had a Catholic prime minister, Mr Blair decided not to convert prior to taking, or while in, office.

Alastair Campbell, then his press spokesman, may have famously declared: "We don't do God", but the prime minister of Great Britain, at times, has little choice, for instance when he appoints the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Anglican Church.

Some lawyers believe the 1829 Emancipation Act, which granted civil rights to Roman Catholics, may still prevent a Catholic from becoming prime minister, as it says no Catholic adviser to the monarch can hold civil or military office.

Dr Bob Davis, head of religious education at Glasgow University, said yesterday: "The highest positions of state have not exactly been hospitable to Catholics and I think they have to be fine-tuned before a Catholic could comfortably take the position of prime minister.

"The act of conversion, in which he [Mr Blair] abandons his Anglican allegiance would have made the situation even more complicated. There is also the fact that his most conspicuous achievement has been the peace process in Northern Ireland and his conversion would have made it infinitely more difficult. There is still the spectre that a Catholic in a high position has dual allegiance, to a foreign power. It is a myth, but a potent myth."

It was not until he married that Mr Blair began attending Catholic mass. The Blairs brought up their four children in the faith and sent them to Church schools, and the Labour leader has steadily increased his contacts with the Church. Soon after he was elected to parliament in 1983, Mr Blair came into contact with Father John Caden, priest at St John Fisher RC Church in Sedgefield.

Fr Caden became a powerful influence in the Blairs' lives, baptising their children and playing tennis with the PM. Fr Caden, who was awarded an MBE a year after Labour won power in 1997, often told friends that Mr Blair was "a Catholic in his heart".

When he became Prime Minister, Mr Blair regularly received communion at Westminster Cathedral, while attending mass with his family. Cardinal Basil Hume, however, wrote to him that such behaviour was not permitted. The Prime Minister agreed to desist, writing the cardinal a note saying: "I wonder what Jesus would think."

In the past decade, the Prime Minister has grown close to a couple of priests. First there was Father Michael Seed, who shepherded a number of high-profile former Anglicans, such as Ann Widdecombe, into the Catholic fold. Four years ago, Mr Blair turned to a more discreet figure. It was reported he has been prepared for his conversion by Father John Walsh, an RAF chaplain, who says mass at Chequers each weekend.

After today's appointment with the Pope, Mr Blair will go to a lunch hosted by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor at the Venerable English College in Rome. He will be the first serving premier to set foot in the college, which centuries ago trained priests for a clandestine return to Protestant England.