TONY BLAIR may be under intense pressure over today's Commons vote but that didn't stop him enjoying his 50th birthday yesterday - and joking that at least his picture had not been used to advertise problems of male impotency.

Mr Blair told a lunch of regional newspaper executives in London: "I wasn't looking forward to reaching 50 and this gloom was before I opened today's newspapers and found I was used - without my permission - to advertise Sanatogen.

"As somebody pointed out to me this morning, it's better than the advertisements Pele is fronting."

The legendary footballer is involved in an advertising campaign highlighting male impotency problems.

Mr Blair's agent, John Burton, had arranged for the Prime Minister and keen Magpies fan to get a signed Newcastle United shirt from his hero Alan Shearer.

But the birthday boy will have to wait until the new strip, now sponsored by Northern Rock, hits the shops.

The new strip is due out on May 23, with an adult home shirt costing £40 and the complete kit £69.

French President Jacques Chirac appeared keen to mend relations with Mr Blair after their bust-up over the Iraq war.

The president sent six bottles of a rare vintage Bordeaux saying he knows how much the Prime Minister appreciates France.

Along with the bottles of 1989 Chateaux Mouton-Rothschild - which can be bought on the Internet for £227 each - Chirac sent a Saint-Louis crystal wine carafe and a warm letter.

"Knowing how much you like spending time in France, I have the pleasure of offering you a present that illustrates the quality of regional products in our nation, which you know so well," Chirac wrote.