Hong Kong, July 23: British Prime Minister Tony Blair is to return home today, a day earlier than planned, as a typhoon bore down on Hong Kong, his last stop in a week-long trip to Washington and East Asia. "On account of the weather, the pilots (of Blair`s chartered British Airways Boeing 777) have advised us to leave today" to go back to London, said a spokesman for Blair as typhoon Imbudo was heading to the territory.
Blair`s scheduled speech on globalisation to a British Chamber of Commerce luncheon was going ahead, but his talks with chief executive Tung Chee-Hwa, initially planned for tomorrow, were moved up to today morning.
The premier was also meeting Li Ka-Shing, Hong Kong`s best-known tycoon whose Hutchison Whampoa group has significant investments in Britain, including the Felixstowe container port.
Blair left London last Thursday on a marathon trip that has taken him through Washington, Japan, South Korea and, on Monday and yesterday, China.
He wanted to raise post-Iraq security issues with leaders and promote British trade and investment, but the journey was overshadowed before he even reached Japan by the suicide of bioweapons specialist David Kelly.
Typhoon Imbudo intensified over the south China sea overnight and forecasters expected it would make landfall on the Chinese mainland to the west of Hong Kong around midnight (2130 IST) today. Bureau Report