He worked alongside the then prime minister Tony Blair and Tessa Jowell MP to secure the 2012 Olympiad for London seven years ago.

BBC: Former London mayor Ken Livingstone 'turned down CBE'

He remained an MP after quitting the government when Mr Blair left office and will replace Manchester Central MP Tony Lloyd as the British representative on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

BBC: NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Prescott to stand down as Hull MP

Tony Blair represented Band Aid in Parliament as a young MP.

BBC: Bob Geldof opens up about Paula

We are told Tony Blair pleaded with Gordon Brown to call off Tom Watson MP from his crusade over the original hacking allegations.

BBC: Murdoch: the network defeats the hierarchy

MP, and the man most likely to replace Tony Blair as prime minister, has been sounding off on the dire consequences of breaking up.

ECONOMIST: Scottish nationalism

Some observers saw his trip to Beijing last year as increasing the likelihood of the MP becoming an unofficial special envoy to China for Tony Blair.

BBC: Mandelson rules out comeback

The Conservative MP for West Derbyshire, Patrick McLoughlin, has called for Tony Blair to make a statement on Downing's failure to get bail.

BBC: Murder case man refused bail

Jeffrey Donaldson MP will travel to London with the Ulster Unionist Party delegation to meet the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

BBC: Donaldson to join London talks

Others who have resigned as an MP by being appointed to the Chiltern Hundreds include Roy Jenkins, Brian Walden, Neil Kinnock, Tony Blair, David Davis, and Eric Illsley.

BBC: Chris Huhne officially no longer an MP