British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday slapped down jeering trade-union critics of his leadership and freemarket policies, saying the reality of globalisation had to be dealt with. Finance minister Gordon Brown, long tipped to take over from Blair, meanwhile, is set to move into 10 Downing Street - even if he hasn't got the top job yet, officials said.

In his last ever speech as British leader to an annual union conference, Blair highlighted links between globalisation, immigration and the threat from terrorism.

Blair's speech to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Brighton was boycotted by some delegates.

The prime minister told hundreds of delegates, in a seaside conference centre, that the solution to terrorism is increased security measures and tackling its "underlying causes", while the answers to concerns over migration lie in putting a "system of rules in place to control it". He said the "answer to economic globalisation is open markets and strong welfare" as well as good public services.

Before Blair's address, a group of union delegates held up placards reading "Blair Out" and "Public services not private profit", while about a dozen walked out as soon as he started speaking.

The prime minister acknowledged their democratic right to protest, but slapped down hecklers who interrupted his speech, telling them to "listen to the argument".

Others protested his government's military intervention in Iraq as well as his refusal to demand an immediate ceasefire during the recent Lebanon war. "You can hold up your posters 'troops out'," Blair said, but urged them to understand soldiers were needed in Iraq and Afghanistan. This drew more jeers.

A Treasury spokesman said Brown's move is on police advice and with "the agreement and help" of Blair's office. Numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street are official homes of the prime minister and the chancellor. Brown, then single, moved to a private apartment nearby after Blair swapped flats with him. The chancellor, now married, has decided to move back in since the birth of his second son in July.

PHOTO CAPTION

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, seen here in Brighton, was given a bitter farewell by trade unionists who demanded his successor revive the ruling Labour Party's traditional support for workers. (AFP)