FORMER UK prime minister Tony Blair apparently turned down a Lexus LS600h L limousine for a sportier RX400h sport-utility vehicle when he was in Singapore last month for homegrown luxury fashion retailer Club 21's 35th anniversary celebrations.

Mr Blair, who is now a special envoy for the United Nations, was guest of honour at the charity gala dinner. VIP guests in town for the event, including fashion designer Dries Van Noten, were ferried around in a fleet of Lexus models. Mr Blair was supposed to ride in the flagship Lexus hybrid model. But perhaps because he was in the back of a big saloon for so long during official life, he chose the SUV hybrid instead.