Questions have been raised about the cost of security for Tony Blair when he signs copies of his memoir, A Journey, at Waterstone's, Piccadilly on September 8. The former PM is known to have been paid a £4.6m advance for the book, so why should the taxpayer meet the cost of his security, estimated to be about £250,000?

That guesstimate is based on the cost of policing Blair's last central London gig - his appearance in front of the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war. Keeping him safe from anti-war protestors on that occasion was said to have cost the taxpayer £273,000 and the security needed in Piccadilly next month is expected to be no different.

The protests expected outside Waterstone's will be given extra edge by a £30,000 bounty offered by the Stop the War Coalition to anyone who manages to arrest Blair.

The Coalition's Andrew Burkin said yesterday: "We are appalled that Waterstone's are prepared to have him on their premises. It is a disgrace that he is swanning around with police protection at our expense ­ he should be in The Hague on trial for war crimes."

As for the signing itself, the rules imposed by Blair's publishers on the Waterstone's event suggest actual purchasers of the tome might be thin on the ground.

According to the Bookseller: "Customers cannot be photographed with Blair, there will be no personal dedications and all bags, backpacks and briefcases must be checked in, along with cameras and mobile phones... Blair will sign a maximum of two books per customer." Nice.

Tony Blair book: why should we pay for his security?

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair is to donate the profits from his memoirs to a sports centre for injured soldiers.

A spokesman said Mr Blair would hand over the reported £4m advance payment plus all royalties to honour "their courage and sacrifice".

The Royal British Legion will receive the money after the book, A Journey, is published next month.

But Peter Brierley, whose son Lance Corporal Shaun Brierley was killed in Iraq, called the gift "blood money".

The money is believed to be the biggest single donation ever received by the Legion, and will go towards the £25m Battle Back Challenge Centre, due to open in summer 2012.

'Honouring courage'

A spokesman for the former prime minister said: "In making this decision, Tony Blair recognises the courage and sacrifice the armed forces demonstrate day in, day out.

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Good for you, Bliar, that decision must have been a no-brainer, apart from risking to be called "blood-money"...

And as you say John:

..."and let's not forget our own little antipodean accomplice to these crimes, the one & only rattus who spent a decade lying to the awstraylen people on just about every conceivable topic & who was to Phoney Tony what the sorceror was to his apprentice...."

Yes Gus, forever "phoney tony" ....

His critics are calling it 'blood money' and the smartest PR stunt of the year. Parents of soldiers who died in Iraq are saying it will make no difference - they still hold him to blame. But the big question this morning is how much money Tony Blair is actually donating to the Royal British Legion in pledging to hand over the receipts from his upcoming memoir, A Journey.

Crucially, does the donation announced yesterday include the £4.6m advance he received for the book or not?

Most media reports overnight have made the assumption that Blair is giving the Legion all his advance plus any further money he might make from the book if and when it is translated and sold around the world following next month's publication in Britain and the States.

But inquiries by the Daily Telegraph to Blair's office have received no confirmation that this is the case.

The Telegraph claims to have put detailed questions to Blair's people about the donation, its value and its nature and received no direct answers.

A spokesman told the paper: "It is absolutely everything he would have made from the book" and confirmed that the gift covered all editions published in all countries "in perpetuity".

But he refused to explain what "would have made" means. Does the offer to the British Legion include the £4.6m advance or does it apply to the money expected on top of the advance? That could still be several thousands of pounds - but not millions, unless Blair turns out to have written a masterpiece.

"There are also questions over whether the eventual profits will be donated before they are taxed," says the Telegraph report, "and whether the entire donation will be set against the tax liabilities of the complex web of companies and trusts involved in Mr Blair¹s finances."

Tony Blair's 'blood money': how much is he really giving?