Blair faces union protesters

Tony Blair faced heckling from union activists as he made his last speech as Prime Minister to the TUC conference.

Members of the RMT rail union held up banners calling for Mr Blair to resign and he faced calls of 'Go now' from delegates.

A group of delegates, led by the union's general secretary Bob Crow, then marched out of the conference hall at the Brighton Centre.

Speaking after the walkout, Mr Crow said: "What is the point of listening to someone when you cannot believe a word they say?"

Mr Blair began his speech by paying tribute the military personnel killed in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and faced further heckling by union members over the troops' presence in those countries. However, he told the hecklers that they should be "proud" of what was being done to support democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr Blair announced that he would step down as Prime Minister within a year last week.

Chancellor Gordon Brown, who is due to address union leaders at a private dinner on Tuesday night praised Mr Blair's speech and condemned those who walked out.

Also on Tuesday at the TUC conference, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain announced plans to stand as a candidate to replace John Prescott as deputy leader of the Labour party.

Mr Hain's comments came as David Milliband told the BBC that he was not planning to run for the party's deputy leadership.

(KMcA)