Blair flies home to travel crisis

Tony Blair returned home today following his secret midnight visit to Afghanistan, to face the growing public anger over the railways.

At the end of his six-day mission to south Asia, the Prime Minister became the first western leader to visit Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban.

As he flew back into London this morning, the most pressing domestic problem was the continuing industrial action. There were fresh reports that the future of Transport Secretary Stephen Byers looked grim, with chief Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Smith being tipped as his succcessor. The three-hour visit to Afghanistan saw the Prime Minsiter and his wife Cherie landing at Bagram air base in a blacked-out Hercules aircraft.

Mr Blair met Hamid Karzai, leader of the interim Kabul Government, and also thanked British troops for their efforts in defeating the Taliban. He said: "I wanted, not just to thank our forces, but also to make clear to the new interim administration that our commitment to Afghanistan is for the long term."