Blair reveals No. 10's shortcomings

Mr Blair said the terraced townhouse which has been the official residence of the British PM since 1732 was "perched uneasily" between its roles as a national symbol, busy workplace and private home.

Speaking with historian Simon Schama for a film on the history of the building posted on the Downing Street website, Mr Blair revealed that he likes to go out into the garden at Number 10 when he has a tough decision to make.

Seated in the stately White Room, redecorated by Margaret Thatcher during her time in office to resemble a grand Georgian drawing room, Mr Blair said he would host meetings there, but retreat to his "den" next to the Cabinet Room when he had to get down to work.

And asked where he went when he was faced with a really difficult decision, he replied: "The room next to the Cabinet Room, or sometimes I would go and sit in the garden. If the sun's shining, I go and sit in the garden."

Discussing the suitability of Number 10 as an official residence, Mr Blair - who has already started making preparations to move out on June 27 - told Schama: "Downing Street at the moment is perched a little uneasily between the formal, state, visible outward expression of Britain and the place where we receive people and so forth and a functioning workplace."

When William Gladstone occupied Number 10 in the late 19th century, he had only a few secretaries working there, said Mr Blair.

"The concept would have been alien to him of having a couple of hundred people," he said. "However, that's the modern business of being Prime Minister."

Mr Schama presents four four-minute films, set in the White Room, the Cabinet Room, the State Dining Room, and on the famous Downing St staircase that features pictures of every Prime Minister since Walpole. They can be seen at www.number-10.gov.uk.