BURNLEY MP Peter Pike is to get the chance to quiz Tony Blair in-depth later this month in a televised cross-examination of the Prime Minister at Westminster.

He is one of 34 senior Parliamentarians who will line up opposite the Prime Minister for a special all-party grilling session at Westminster on the morning of Tuesday, July 16.

The meeting has been arranged by the Liaison Committee, which is made up of all the chairs of House of Commons select committees.

Mr Pike intends to be there as chairman of the all-party group looking at the Deregulation and Regulatory Reform.

He admits that he is not certain to get the chance to tackle Mr Blair during the two-and-a-half hour session -- but he already has his questions ready if he does.

He has got five key issues for Mr Blair to consider and they are:

How much priority and money the Government is prepared to put to tackling the problems of housing including low values of property in East Lancashire and the rapid overheating and price rises around London?

What the Government is ready to do not merely to boost spending on the NHS but on other key public services such as education, social services and care of the elderly, currently a key issue in Lancashire?

What plans the Government has to step up action to deal with the racism and intolerance which caused the Burnley, Oldham and Bradford disturbances a year ago and to ensure that people of all ethnic groups can live in peace and security in Britain?

What the Government is going to do to further the war on terrorism by trying to calm down international hotspots such as the Middle East and Kashmir?

What measures the Government is prepared to take to ensure that countries in the developing world can increase their prosperity and offer a decent standard of living to their citizens so they do not head for Britain as economic migrants and asylum seekers?

The Liaison Committee said that Mr Blair would appear twice a year before them in mid-January and mid-July. In a special report, the all-party group, which includes 10 Tories and two Liberal Democrats, said it believes that the appearance of Mr Blair in a public, televised cross-examination would be a more effective way of holding him account as head of government and in respect of the staff and advisers who answer to him than the 'confrontational and theatrical' Prime Minister's Questions.

It said that the calmer setting of the committee room should be a more 'productive and informative' examination of his role.

And Mr Pike agrees: "I think its a good idea and I intend to be there. Obviously we can't all ask him questions, but I hope to do so.

"I think it will be a far better way of putting him on the spot than Question Time in the Commons."

The themes for the cross-examination will be selected in advance, but Mr Blair will not be notified of the actual questions.