Delicate diplomacy has characterised Blair's visit

Speaking on the last day of an Asian tour, Mr Blair spoke positively of Mr Tung's decision to heed public opinion and defer the unpopular bill.

"What the Hong Kong authorities are going to do is go back and look at this whole issue again and I think that's sensible," he said.

The territory's government has announced that it will re-open public consultations on the amended bill in September.

Mr Blair curtailed his visit to Hong Kong - which was due to end on Thursday - because of an approaching typhoon.

I found the Chinese leadership... very much aware of the need to handle the situation sensitively Tony Blair

The BBC's correspondent in Hong Kong, Francis Markus, says that Mr Blair has been walking a delicate diplomatic tightrope over the security bill, which drew out half a million protesters on 1 July.

He has had to balance between speaking out on the controversial bill - as local pro-democracy campaigners have demanded - and risking damaging Britain's relationship with Beijing.

'Sensitive approach'

After talks with Mr Tung on Wednesday, the UK prime minister said he was confident that both Beijing and Hong Kong's government were paying heed to local concern over the bill.

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"I think there is a sense certainly that I have that the authorities here are very much listening to what people say..." he said.

"I [also] found the Chinese leadership, when I was discussing Hong Kong with them, very much aware of the need to handle the situation sensitively and in accordance with the guarantees that have been given to the people here in Hong Kong."

The Hong Kong government said on Wednesday that a version of the controversial bill containing numerous amendments and concessions would be put to public consultation.

"We will call this a consultation document and we plan to release it in September," Acting Permanent Secretary for Security Timothy Tong told the territory's legislators.

Beijing has been pressing Hong Kong to pass the law, as required by the mini-constitution - the Basic Law - set up when Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997.

However, it has said little about the protests.

Mr Blair ended his visit to Hong Kong with a speech to the British Chamber of Commerce.

He told business people that his recent meetings with the leaders of China, South Korea and Japan had convinced him of their determination to tackle terrorism.