The convicted fraudster who was embroiled in a scandal involving the British prime minister's wife was deported from the State this evening.
Mr Peter Foster was detained by immigration officials in Dublin Airport yesterday. He was held overnight in a detention facility in Mountjoy prison.
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A file picture of Mr Foster
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The Australian was at the centre of the scandal last year involving the purchase of two flats in Bristol for Mrs Cherie Blair.
He was refused leave to land by the immigration officials when he arrived on a flight from Paris at 3 p.m. Last December, Mr Foster dropped an appeal against deportation from Britain.
At around 11.30 a.m. today Foster was driven away from the jail in a red Transitvan with blacked out windows, and left on a flight shortly after 4 p.m.
"He has gone to an unconfirmed European destination for onward transfer toAustralia," a Garda spokeswoman said.
The controversy surrounding the purchase of the flats became known last year as the "Cheriegate" affair. It caused considerable embarrassment to the Blair family, with Mrs Blair breaking down at a highly charged press conference to answer allegations that she had not been frank in her explanation about her association with Mr Foster.
The controversy intensified when it emerged that Mrs Blair had telephoned Mr Foster's solicitors about immigration proceedings against him.