Blair asks press for 'time out on hysteria'

Prime Minister appeals for a 'return to substance' at presidential-style televised conference called to end battle over spin

Tony Blair sought to draw a line under the Government's recent conflict with the media yesterday when he used a televised news conference to declare his desire to "get back to substance".

The 75-minute event at Downing Street took in everything from the euro to the World Cup as the Prime Minister distanced himself from claims that he and his ministers were "at war" with journalists.

The press conference was the first of a planned series of monthly events aimed at allowing the media direct access to Mr Blair instead of contact through his spokesmen.

Mr Blair shrugged off questions about the perceived lack of public trust in him and his Government, underlined by a poll claiming that a majority considered Labour dishonest, and the dispute over the Queen Mother's funeral. He focused instead on the "real issues" of health, education, the economy, crime and transport on which he would be judged at the next general election.

The Prime Minister was also extremely enthusiastic about British membership of the single currency, welcoming for the first time the recent narrowing of the exchange rate between sterling and the euro.

Speaking in the state dining room, Mr Blair ducked questions on whether he supported MPs who had questioned the use of taxpayers' money on lavish apartments for minor royals. He also refused to say whether his wife, Cherie, supported the monarchy.

Mr Blair also spoke of the strain the Northern Ireland peace process was under, warned there could be no complacency after 11 September, and praised the role of British troops in Afghanistan.

However, his main message was that he wanted to end the charges of spin and manipulation that have dogged the Government in recent months and that have triggered angry attacks on the press by Charles Clarke, the Labour Party chairman, and David Blunkett, the Home Secretary.

"Let's get back to substance. Maybe we should take a time out on each other's hysteria. The best answer to all the stuff that flows in and flows out is to get the job done," he said. "The polls, they come and they go.People in the country will judge any government about what actually happens."

The Prime Minister said that issues of spin were running in the media because there was no big policy argument in British politics coming from the Tories. He twice declined to say whether it was a mistake to complain to the Press Complaints Commission about an apparent rift with Black Rod over arrangements to mark the death of the Queen Mother.

"To be absolutely blunt about it, if you look at the great sweep of history, the success of this Government is not going to be determined by that," he said. "I'm not saying these other issues because they occupy a lot of headline space don't make an impact. I'm simply saying ... what gets me up in the morning, it is not worrying about that, it is worrying about the things I have been talking about."

He pointed out that the Government had suffered similar periods of negative press in the past, in particular during the fuel protests in September 2000. On the euro, the Prime Minister said that it was Britain's "destiny" to be at the heart of Europe and referred repeatedly to the benefits of membership. "Let us again be absolutely clear about this. It is in the interests of this country that the euro be successful. In or out of the euro, 60 per cent of our trade is with Europe," he said.

But Michael Ancram, the Tory deputy leader, ridiculed the press conference. "This was another clear attempt to relaunch a Government in trouble on many fronts. But once again it was all spin and no delivery," he said. "The Prime Minister had nothing new to say. His problem is not lack of presentation, but lack of trust." Despite Mr Blair's attempt to bury the feud, Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, will reignite it again today. In the left-wing Tribune magazine, he will say: "Most depressing and damaging is the constant suggestion ... that politicians are at best, self-serving; at worst, venal."

Chosen few: Who were there

The Lobby was asked to select 45 names for the press conference. The London Correspondents Bureau was asked to choose a further 30 foreign correspondents. Fifteen political commentators were invited by Downing Street.

Journalists at the event included: James Hardy (Mirror); Catherine McLeod (Herald); Nick Speed (Western Mail); Fraser Nelson (Scotsman); Paul Linford (Newcastle Journal); John Hipwood (Wolverhampton Express and Star); Frank Prenesti (AF X); Paul Eastham (Daily Mail); Patrick Hennessy (Evening Standard); Jean Eaglesham (FT); Paul Waugh (Independent); Frank Johnson (Telegraph); Michael White (Guardian); Brendan Carling (Yorkshire Post); Patrick O'Flynn (Express); Matthew George (Western Daily Press); Julia Hartley-Brewer (Sunday Express); Jessica Bamford (Nottingham Evening Post); Jonathan Walker (Birmingham Post); Mike Steele (Newspoint); Geri Peev (Gallery News); Peter Hayes (Central TV); Brian Shawcross (Capital Radio); Ben Macintyre (Times); Torcuil Crichton (Sunday Herald); Elinor Goodman (Channel 4 News); Ian Hernon (Liverpool Echo); George Pascoe Watson (Sun); John Sargent (ITN); Andrew Marr (BBC); Adam Boulton (Sky News); Phil Hornby (Meridian TV); Keith Gladdis (News of the World); John Kampfner (New Statesman); Simon Walters (Mail on Sunday); Rishi Bhattacharya (Granada TV); Craig Hoy (ePolitix.com); Eben Black (Sunday Times); Gerry Foley (Tyne Tees); Emma Hutchinson (Anglia TV); Polly Toynbee (Guardian); Andrew Rawnsley (Observer); Quentin Letts (Daily Mail); Alice Thompson (Daily Telegraph); Jon Snow (Channel 4 News); Anne McElvoy (Evening Standard); Phil Stephens (FT); Stryker McGuire (Newsweek); Andy Bell (Channel 5); Tom Reid (Washington Post)