The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has refused to get drawn into commenting on the 'sex and lies' allegations against his host in Washignton, President Clinton.

Mr Blair made his position clear on the subject when he appeared in an interview on ABC television.

Asked whether he considered "moral rectitude to be a necessary component of national leadership?" Mr Blair said: "We all have a view about it. ... I know what you're trying to lead me into and I'm not going to get led into it."

Instead, Mr Blair spoke about the professional role of a political leader. He said: "I think it's important that the politicians do the things they were elected to do.

"In the end those are the issues: schools, hospitals, jobs, living standards, crime, that people expect us to focus on.

I think it is much to the President's credit that he has refused to be distracted from focusing on what I call the 'big picture' - those things that really matter to the ordinary American man and woman, just as they matter to the ordinary British man and woman."

Mr Blair said people must keep a sense of balance and perspective about the issues that "really" matter. He also expressed his support for Mr Clinton as a world leader.

"You have a President who is doing a superb job, who has huge respect and standing on the international stage," he said. "For example in Northern Ireland which is a very difficult issue for us in Britain, where there are immensely delicate negotiations, he has been solid as a rock all the way through - now to me that is what counts."

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