Tony Blair is set to meet publishers in October to negotiate a multi-million pound deal for his memoirs, it was revealed today.

Sources close to the former prime minister say he is likely to hold face-to-face talks in London, accompanied by Robert Barnett, an American lawyer.

Random House and HarperCollins - owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation - are believed to be the leading bidders for the book, which could net Mr Blair around £5m.

Mr Barnett was responsible for achieving a $12m (£5.97m) price for former president Bill Clinton's autobiography, My Life.

The fee for Mr Blair's account could be inflated because of his enduring popularity in America.

There have been fears that Mr Blair's revelations could embarrass his successor as prime minister, Gordon Brown.

The two men had a notoriously turbulent relationship, with the ex-chancellor accused by some of trying to hasten his boss's exit.

However, Mr Blair's aides privately insist that publication of a book is "years away" and that talks are at a very early stage.

Alastair Campbell, Mr Blair's former spin doctor, voluntarily removed sensitive material from his recent diaries, insisting that he did not want to damage the government.

Mr Blair - who has repeatedly stated that his top priority is securing a fourth term in office for Labour - may take a similar attitude.

His former deputy prime minister, John Prescott, has also clinched a book deal - albeit for a more modest sum.

The book, provocatively entitled Prezza: Pulling No Punches, will be ghostwritten by Hunter Davies, who was behind the autobiographies of footballers Paul Gascoigne and Wayne Rooney in a £300,000 deal, and wrote a celebrated biography of the Beatles.