Tony Blair caught out as fare dodger!

He had a lame excuse. He doesn't carry money, or at least not this time. However, the guard on the Heathrow Express allowed him to carry on, as someone paid up for him. OK for some. The press have had a field day, pointing out the ironies of it all. But I like the overseas press the best, especially The Hindu. This is what they think of "the 54-year-old mega-rich Middle East envoy"!

Tony Blair may have earned millions since leaving office last year but when it came to paying his own train fare, the former British Prime Minister was found short of cash. The 54-year-old mega-rich Middle East envoy recently jumped on the Heathrow Express which allows passengers to buy a ticket on board.

But when the ticket collector came round to first class, a red-faced Blair could not cough up the 24.50 pounds fare as he did not have enough cash in his wallet, the 'Daily Star' reported on Wednesday.

However, he was bailed out by a co-passenger who paid the fare to save the blushes of the former British Premier. "We do not know if he had any money on him or not but one of the people with him paid for his fare," a spokesman for Heathrow Express said.

In 2001, Blair's wife Cherie was forced to pay a ten-pound fine plus a 7.90-pound fare when she was caught travelling to Luton from London Blackfriars without a ticket.

If he visits India again, he better not get caught out on one of their trains!