Blair's latest freebie is a risky venture at Berlusconi's villa

Key Points

• Tony Blair to stay at Italian premier, Silvio Berlusconi’s house

• Islamic militant group issued threat to Berlusconi on the internet due to his political stance on Iraq

• Website requests European leaders to withdraw their troops from Iraq

Key quote:

"The Italian government has dug its own grave by its own hands after it followed America, the head of infidelity, and it stayed in Iraq without any regard to the blood spilled in Iraq every day, therefore, it is responsible for all the blood which will be spilled in Italy."- Abu-Hafs al-Masri Brigade statement

Story in full: TONY Blair yesterday arrived in Italy for the last leg of his summer holiday amid tight security after an Islamic militant group issued a direct personal threat to one of the Prime Minister’s hosts, the Italian premier, Silvio Berlusconi.

Mr Blair and his wife, Cherie, are expected to spend two nights at Mr Berlusconi’s cliff-top villa on Sardinia.

Some Labour members are angry at the trip as they regard the Italian centre-right leader as their natural political enemy. Others are just embarrassed that the Prime Minister is once again the guest of a millionaire.

But Mr Berlusconi is also one of the United States-led "coalition of the willing" who backed the war in Iraq and committed troops to the country. It is the presence of 3,000 Italian troops that seems to have driven the terrorist threat to the Italian leader.

The warning from the Omar el-Mukhtar Brigade of the Jamaat al-Tawhid al-Islamiya group was the second Islamic terror threat to Italy in 24 hours.

In a statement published on a website often used by Islamic militants, the group issued a personal message to Mr Berlusconi, telling him: "You have defied the soldiers of Islam, so wait for the Islamic quake that will follow."

The group went on to tell all European leaders to withdraw their troops from Iraq. Otherwise, "wait for the hell which will turn your nights into bloodbaths".

The group threatening Mr Berlusconi’s life takes its name from Omar el-Mukhtar, an Arab nationalist who was hanged by the Italian authorities in 1931 after attempting to spark an uprising against colonial rule in Libya.

Little is known about the group, which has previously warned Arab leaders against backing US calls for an Islamic peacekeeping force to be sent to Iraq. But its warning came just hours after another, better-known group issued its own warning to Mr Berlusconi’s government, which is likely to concern security officials.

"Today, we have declared a bloody war and the earth will be shaken under the feet of any Italian," said the Abu-Hafs al-Masri Brigade statement.

"The Italian government has dug its own grave by its own hands after it followed America, the head of infidelity, and it stayed in Iraq without any regard to the blood spilled in Iraq every day, therefore, it is responsible for all the blood which will be spilled in Italy."

While internet-based terror warnings from Islamic groups are relatively common, the nature of these threats may trigger particular alarm among intelligence services, since they show that the militants are targeting their threats against governments and political leaders.

Western security officials are concerned that al-Qaeda and its affiliated groups are moving away from "spectacular" attacks against large numbers of civilians and towards more sophisticated operations that have political ripple-effects.

The terrorist bombing on Madrid commuter trains in March that killed 200 people also effectively changed the outcome of the Spanish general election, ousting the Popular Party. Its Socialist Party replacements subsequently pulled Spanish troops out of Iraq.

Those events have led officials to redouble security around the leaders of other pro-war countries. As such, Mr Blair’s summer break with Mr Berlusconi has caused considerable nervousness among the security forces.

Italian officials insist they are confident they can protect Mr Blair at Mr Berlusconi’s 27-bedroom retreat, which has its own elaborate security precautions.

Among the most controversial is an "escape tunnel" cut through the cliff to a private dock, which has brought complaints from environmentalists and opposition MPs who say Mr Berlusconi did not get the proper planning permission for the project.

As well as visiting Mr Berlusconi, Mr Blair will also return to the site of a former holiday, the Tuscan palazzo of Prince Girolamo Guicciardini Strozzi.

The Tuscan sojourn will round off the Blairs’ global tour, spent solely in the houses of wealthy acquaintances.

The Caribbean has come to rival Tuscany in the Blairs’ affection - this year’s holiday began at Sir Cliff Richard’s luxurious holiday home in Barbados.

It is the second year running the Blairs have been to the island. Rumours there say that the couple viewed properties for sale during their stay.

Downing Street officials insist that the Prime Minister makes charitable donations equal to the value of the hospitality shown to him on his travels. However, this does not placate his critics from within his own party.

Mark Seddon, a left-wing member of Labour’s National Executive Committee, yesterday attacked the "freebie-loving Prime Minister" taking "yet another gratis holiday".