PM attacks 'sensationalist' media

With just a fortnight of his premiership left, Mr Blair delivered a valedictory warning that the pursuit of controversy above accurate news is undermining politicians' "capacity to take the right decisions".

He said the "unravelling of standards" towards "sensation above all else" was a result of increasing diversity and competition in the media following the advent of the internet and rolling news.

The Prime Minister did acknowledge that he was "complicit" in the problem for placing an "inordinate" emphasis on spin in the early days of New Labour.

However, his comments were immediately condemned as hypocritical by political opponents - who also warned against tightening regulation on the press.

Liberal Democrat culture spokesman Don Foster said: "It's easy to blame the press for a loss of trust in politicians. A fairer analysis would point to his own culture of spin."

In the speech to journalists in central London, Mr Blair said: "I do believe this relationship between public life and media is now damaged in a manner that requires repair. The damage saps the country's confidence and self-belief. It undermines its assessment of itself, its institutions. And above all, it reduces our capacity to take the right decisions, in the right spirit for our future."

Mr Blair accepted that the relationship between politicians and the press had always been fraught, but said that it had intensified in recent years. While insisting that he was not complaining about the coverage he gets as Prime Minister, Mr Blair claimed there is less balance in journalism now than 10 years ago.

He said the traditional media is taking on an increasingly "shrill tenor" because reporters are under pressure to bring in exclusives and expose wrongdoing rather than provide facts. Fear of being scooped is also driving the press pack to operate like a "feral beast", he insisted.

"The fear of missing out means today's media, more than ever before, hunts in a pack," Mr Blair said. "In these modes it is like a feral beast, just tearing people and reputations apart. But no-one dares miss out."