Island-hopping conman behind bars again

Convicted Australian conman Peter Foster, once a confidante of British prime minister's wife Cherie Blair, is back behind bars after a bizarre South Pacific island police chase which saw him stow away on an old navy minesweeper.

Foster, once known as a flamboyant playboy, was forced to wade ashore from the minesweeper on a remote beach in Vanuatu clutching his personal belongings in a plastic bag, said police.

Foster, who embarrassed the British government in a scandal known as "Cheriegate", appeared in a Vanuatu court yesterday charged with entering the country illegally.