Tony Blair pays tribute to John Hume's role in Northern Ireland

Former prime minister Tony Blair, who was in office when the Good FridayAgreement was signed, described John Hume as "a political titan; a visionarywho refused to believe the future had to be the same as the past".

"It wasJohn Hume, probably more than anyone else, who sat me down and said, 'look, Iknow you're a new prime minister and I know a lot of people will be tellingyou this is impossible but I'm telling you, it can be done'," Mr Blair said.