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Blair to give new fathers paid leave

LONDON: British Prime Minister Tony Blair, an expectant father, has decided to give new fathers paid leave, a newspaper said on Sunday.

Blair and the chancellor, Gordon Brown, will announce the funding during a spending review in June, the Sunday Telegraph said.

In the interim ministers will decide whether parents should get flat weekly rates or if payments should be earnings-related, the paper added.

Under European legislation, fathers are entitled to 13 weeks of unpaid paternity leave spread out over the first five years of a child's life.

Blair has said he is undecided whether he will take paternity leave, but the scheme will come too late to benefit him -- his child is due on May 24.-Reuters