SIR Malcolm Rifkind, the former Conservative cabinet minister, has said he may be prepared to attempt a return to the House of Commons via an English seat.

The revelation followed speculation about the safe Tory seat of Windsor becoming available after the sitting MP announced he would stand down at the next general election after allegations over his parliamentary expenses claims.

Sir Malcolm, who served as Scottish secretary and foreign secretary, lost his Edinburgh Pentlands seat to Labour during the Tory wipe-out in 1997 and he has maintained until now that he only wanted to stand again in the same seat.

However, proposed boundary changes mean the seat will no longer exist, prompting his change of heart.

He said: ''I would hope to return to the House of Commons one day . . . but where I stand is a decision for the future.''

Sir Malcolm declined previous approaches to stand in the south and he stressed that, despite speculation about the Windsor seat, no feelers have been put out to him at this stage.

Tories, meanwhile, have called on Tony Blair to give up half his pension after it emerged that he will enjoy a package worth more than double the limit the chancellor is planning to impose.

The package, which will pay out a lump sum of more than (pounds) 175,000 and an annual pension of almost (pounds) 100,000, is worth a total of (pounds) 3.19m at current rates, a Sunday newspaper reported.