Hindujas throw a party for Blair

Since stepping down as Prime Minister, Tony Blair clearly no longer feels the need to disguise his taste for mixing with the rich and the powerful. But even his fiercest critics would be surprised to learn that this evening, shortly after he touches down in Delhi for another lucrative speaking engagement, he and his wife Cherie Blair will be dining with the Hinduja brothers, the cause of one of the many scandals that blighted his time in office.

The Indian brothers, reports the Daily Mail, have invited the Blairs to a private, lavish banquet at their family villa in the Indian capital. The engagement is likely to raise eyebrows at Westminster.

When Blair was at No 10, the brothers donated £1m to the Millennium Dome; it was later claimed that the "gift" helped speed up a British passport application for Srichand Hinduja (pictured right, with his brother Gopichand).

Peter, now Lord Mandelson, was said to have greased the wheels for this alleged arrangement and when this became public it resulted in his second Cabinet resignation. Mandelson was later cleared of any wrongdoing.