TONY Blair this afternoon defied his critics and refused to name the day he intends to quit.All he would confirm was that this month's Labour Party conference in Manchester would be his last as leader and Prime Minister.

By Graham Dines

TONY Blair this afternoon defied his critics and refused to name the day he intends to quit.

All he would confirm was that this month's Labour Party conference in Manchester would be his last as leader and Prime Minister.

And rounding on his critics, he said this week had not been Labour's finest hour.

Mr Blair said he would have preferred to have to have set his own timetable for departure, but it was obvious to him that he had to say that he would resign some time in the next 12 months.

And he apologised to the public for the way his party colleagues had behaved. The Labour Party had to understand that the public came first.