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| Blair in Vatican for pope talks | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Tony Blair has arrived at the Vatican for his last meeting with the Pope as prime minister. | |
| There has been speculation Mr Blair, an Anglican, is planning to convert to the same denomination as wife Cherie and their children after leaving office. | There has been speculation Mr Blair, an Anglican, is planning to convert to the same denomination as wife Cherie and their children after leaving office. |
| He has said the issue of his conversion to Catholicism is "unresolved" ahead of his private audience. | |
| Asked by the Times magazine if he would be converting, he said: "Things aren't always as resolved as they might be." | Asked by the Times magazine if he would be converting, he said: "Things aren't always as resolved as they might be." |
| He said he was "nervous" discussing the issue before Saturday's Rome meeting. | He said he was "nervous" discussing the issue before Saturday's Rome meeting. |
| Mr Blair's audience with Pope Benedict XVI will be the final foreign engagement of his "farewell tour". He is set to leave Downing Street on Wednesday. | |
| Mr Blair said about the subject of conversion: "I don't want to talk about it. It's difficult with some of these things." | Mr Blair said about the subject of conversion: "I don't want to talk about it. It's difficult with some of these things." |
| There is no constitutional barrier to such a conversion, which would have made Mr Blair the UK's first Catholic prime minister. | There is no constitutional barrier to such a conversion, which would have made Mr Blair the UK's first Catholic prime minister. |
| However, it has been suggested he would wait until after leaving office to avoid possible clashes such as over his role in appointing Church of England bishops. | |
| Downing Street said Mr Blair wanted to discuss "interfaith issues" with the Pope. | Downing Street said Mr Blair wanted to discuss "interfaith issues" with the Pope. |