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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Defiant Blair rejects quit calls | Defiant Blair rejects quit calls |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A defiant Tony Blair has said he will not give in to pressure to quit over the cash-for-honours affair. | A defiant Tony Blair has said he will not give in to pressure to quit over the cash-for-honours affair. |
| The Prime Minster told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he hoped the police inquiry would be over "shortly". | The Prime Minster told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he hoped the police inquiry would be over "shortly". |
| But he said he intended "get on with the job", adding: "You will have to put up with me for a bit longer." | But he said he intended "get on with the job", adding: "You will have to put up with me for a bit longer." |
| Mr Blair is due to stand down this year but has come under pressure to go now after being interviewed by police as a witness for a second time. | Mr Blair is due to stand down this year but has come under pressure to go now after being interviewed by police as a witness for a second time. |
| Senior Labour figures, including party chairman Hazel Blears and former leader Neil Kinnock, have said the cash-for-honours inquiry is damaging the government. | Senior Labour figures, including party chairman Hazel Blears and former leader Neil Kinnock, have said the cash-for-honours inquiry is damaging the government. |
| Conservative leader David Cameron has called on Mr Blair to stand down now "in the national interest". | Conservative leader David Cameron has called on Mr Blair to stand down now "in the national interest". |
| I am not going to get into a situation where I am pleading for my integrity, not even actually in front of the public Tony Blair Blair defends NHS record Listen to full interview | |
| Mr Blair, who has not named an exit date but is widely expected to remain in his job until June, told Today it would "not be very democratic" to stand down earlier than he had planned. | Mr Blair, who has not named an exit date but is widely expected to remain in his job until June, told Today it would "not be very democratic" to stand down earlier than he had planned. |
| But he added: "I am not going to beg for my character in front of anyone. People can make up their own mind about me." | But he added: "I am not going to beg for my character in front of anyone. People can make up their own mind about me." |
| Asked about the police inquiry, Mr Blair said: "I think it's got to run its course over the next few weeks. | Asked about the police inquiry, Mr Blair said: "I think it's got to run its course over the next few weeks. |
| "I hope it will be wound up and let's see where we are then, and in the meantime despite what people may think, I get on with the job." | "I hope it will be wound up and let's see where we are then, and in the meantime despite what people may think, I get on with the job." |
| He cautioned voters against believing everything they read "ricocheting around the media", some of which he said was "untrue". | He cautioned voters against believing everything they read "ricocheting around the media", some of which he said was "untrue". |
| He said he would be happy to speak publicly about the affair once the police inquiry is over. | He said he would be happy to speak publicly about the affair once the police inquiry is over. |
| 'Respect' | 'Respect' |
| He was then asked whether he still saw himself as "a pretty straight kind of guy," as he famously described himself in 1997 over the Ecclestone affair, the first funding scandal to engulf his premiership. | He was then asked whether he still saw himself as "a pretty straight kind of guy," as he famously described himself in 1997 over the Ecclestone affair, the first funding scandal to engulf his premiership. |
| "I am not going to get into a situation where I am pleading for my integrity, not even actually in front of the public," he told interviewer John Humphrys. | "I am not going to get into a situation where I am pleading for my integrity, not even actually in front of the public," he told interviewer John Humphrys. |
| He said he had "a deep respect for the British people and it's been an honour and privilege to lead them". | He said he had "a deep respect for the British people and it's been an honour and privilege to lead them". |
| But he had "changed" over the past 10 years and was a "different sort of person" now, who was less concerned about being "liked". | |
| Four members of Mr Blair's inner circle, including his chief fundraiser Lord Levy, have now been questioned by police investigating claims honours were given in exchange for cash. All deny any wrongdoing. | Four members of Mr Blair's inner circle, including his chief fundraiser Lord Levy, have now been questioned by police investigating claims honours were given in exchange for cash. All deny any wrongdoing. |
| Damage | Damage |
| Mr Blair was interviewed for a second time on Friday, but the news was kept secret until Thursday at the police's request. | Mr Blair was interviewed for a second time on Friday, but the news was kept secret until Thursday at the police's request. |
| He was not interviewed under caution, which means he is being treated as a witness rather than a suspect. | He was not interviewed under caution, which means he is being treated as a witness rather than a suspect. |
| But senior Labour figures have said the affair is damaging the government's reputation and eroding trust in politics. | But senior Labour figures have said the affair is damaging the government's reputation and eroding trust in politics. |
| Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has warned it will take "years" for the political system to recover from the damage the inquiry had caused. | Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has warned it will take "years" for the political system to recover from the damage the inquiry had caused. |
| And party chairman Hazel Blears told BBC2's Newsnight: "This whole affair has overshadowed our domestic agenda: it is quite difficult to get your message across." | And party chairman Hazel Blears told BBC2's Newsnight: "This whole affair has overshadowed our domestic agenda: it is quite difficult to get your message across." |
| Constitutional affairs minister Harriet Harman told BBC One's Question Time the affair was "eroding trust". | Constitutional affairs minister Harriet Harman told BBC One's Question Time the affair was "eroding trust". |