Blair leads Team Britain

THE LIST of business dignitaries and celebrities accompanying the Prime Minister on his trip to China is designed to impress his hosts with all that is supposedly best about the UK.

A top television chef, Nick Nairn, will fly with a batch of British food to cook at a trade fair in Shanghai. The chairman of Rolls-Royce will be in attendance to trumpet the virtues of his aero engine company. And the chairman of British Aerospace, which has been in the news for exporting Hawk jets to Indonesia, will also be there.

Mr Blair's delegation will consist of 25 people, including his wife, Cherie, and his press secretary, Alastair Campbell. There will be officials from the Foreign Office, Downing Street and the Department of Trade and Industry as well as telecommunications experts and security staff.

In addition to the main delegation there will be 22 business people and 32 journalists. There have also been reports that Mrs Blair will take her personal hairdresser with her, as she did on at least one previous trip.

Among the business representatives will be one or two unlikely names, including Margaret Thatcher's former political adviser, Sir Charles Powell. Sir Charles, the brother of Mr Blair's chief of staff Jonathan Powell, is on the trip as president of the China-British Business Council.

Lord Sterling of Plaistow will attend as chairman of The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O).

Heavy engineering and energy companies make up alarge portion of the delegation, with Alstom, British Petroleum, Shell and Perkins Engineering on the list.

Sir Clive Thompson, president of the Confederation of British Industry, will be there as will Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge, chairman of British Airways.

During the trip Mr Blair will attend a British Chamber of Commerce dinner and will open new offices for Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance, whose chief executive, Robert Mendelsohn, will be among the business delegation. Mr Blair will also visit the stock exchange in Shanghai before visiting the trade fair to promote British food and goods.

Mrs Blair will attend British Law Week.