TONY Blair is estimated to have earned £12 million since leaving No10.

The former prime minister is believed to have agreed an advance of around £4.6 million for his memoirs to be published by Random House. But his biggest income is reported to be from his popularity on the international public speaking circuit.

One source in the speaking industry put the figure at more than £5.3 million, adding: "He is now probably the highest-paid public speaker in the world."

Washington Speakers Bureau has a two-year waiting list to book Mr Blair, according to the analysis of his earnings in The Times, with institutions prepared to pay up to £157,000 for a speech of around an hour and a half.

Private equity investor the Carlyle Group whose board has included former prime minister Sir John Major and the two presidents Bush is said to be keen to hire Mr Blair. Events include a conference of business experts in Europe in Paris next month, and a meeting in Dubai in February.

As a senior adviser to Wall Street bank JP Morgan Chase, Mr Blair is believed to earn up to £2 million a year, while his salary from Zurich Financial Services to work as an adviser on international politics and climate change is put at £500,000. As a former prime minister, he is entitled to a pension of £63,468 a year, as well as £84,000 to fund a private office. Mr Blair's spokesman disputed some of the figures but declined to comment on Mr Blair's personal finances.

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