Tony Blair

The Prime Minister faced opponents of the possibility of war with Iraq, to see if he could persuade them to accept his chosen course.

Tony Blair answered tough questions from Jeremy Paxman, and an audience entirely made up of people sceptical about military action against Iraq, in Blair on Iraq - A Newsnight Special.

The 50-minute programme, screened on BBC Two on Thursday, 6 February, 2003, gave the audience an opportunity to tackle the prime minister on this controversial issue.

Click here to read a transcript of the Iraq interview

The following evening, Jeremy Paxman and a second specially assembled audience tackled Tony Blair on his public service record.

Paxman and members of the public questioned the government's performance on health, education and crime.

Click here to read a transcript of the public services interview

Newsnight's exclusive question and answer sessions follow a previous in-depth interview with the prime minister, conducted last year.

Click here watch or read the 2002 interview with the prime minister