FURIOUS North-East MPs last night accused Tony Blair of plotting to break Labour's 100-year link with trade unions as one of his last acts as Prime Minister.

The MPs fear Mr Blair is preparing to back proposals - first aired by Tory leader David Cameron - to slap a £50,000 cap on all political donations, including those from unions.

The move would end the bankrolling of the Labour Party by the likes of Unison and the Transport and General Workers Union, which give about £1m each a year.

The Prime Minister is also thought to be sympathetic to a related proposal to require all 3.5m workers who pay an annual £3 levy to be registered as individual donors.

That would force unions to ask members each year if they wished to donate to Labour.

At present, unions have to ballot members on the issue every ten years.

The twin recommendations are made in a draft report by Sir Hayden Phillips, appointed by Mr Blair to clean up political funding in the wake of the cash-for- honours scandal.

North-East MPs were outraged to be told, at the weekly meeting of the Parliamentary Labour party, that the Prime Minister may back the plans.

Kevan Jones, the Durham North MP and a former GMB national organiser, said: "This started out as a cash-for-honours issue, and it has now ended up being about the link to the trade unions.

"Even in the worst and darkest days of Thatcherism, there was never any suggestion of breaking that link - and that's what most concerns me."

Hartlepool MP Iain Wright said: "The link between the party and the union movement is absolutely vital and very important for our renewal.

"I have a lot of sympathy with the unions, if we are saying that funding needs to be tightly restricted."

And Nick Brown, Newcastle East MP, warned Mr Blair: "We were all solid. We want to keep the trade union link and we write the rule book."

David Anderson, the Blaydon MP and former president of Unison, was understood to be "livid and incandescent" at No 10's behaviour.

There were rumblings that the row could bring forward the date of Mr Blair's departure from Downing Street unless tempers were swiftly cooled.

However, the Prime Minister will miss an emergency discussion today at Labour's National Executive Committee, because he is flying to Brussels for an EU summit.

Labour sources have said that nothing is decided and have denied that Mr Blair is trying to weaken the unions.

Mr Cameron has ruled out any deal with Labour on party funding unless a cap is imposed and applied to trade unions, as well as to individuals and corporations.