Blair presents £4m 'red nose' cheque
Tony Blair has presented comic Dawn French with a cheque for £4.3m towards this year's record breaking Red Nose Day fund.
No 10 Downing Street was fitted with its own jumbo size red nose as the Prime Minister handed over the cash raised by Gift Aid.
The Government initiative means the Inland Revenue gives an extra 28 pence for every pound donated to charity by a UK taxpayer.
The scheme helped Comic Relief 2001 raise its best ever total of over £52m
Mr Blair says the Gift Aid scheme is a "fantastic opportunity" for charities to increase their income by encouraging their supporters to make their donations tax efficient.
He said: "We are proud to have contributed to Comic Relief's impressive total which will be spent on helping some of the poorest and most disadvantaged people here at home in the UK and in Africa."
French praised everyone who had helped raise money for Comic Relief.
