Tony Blair says religion crucial to him

Tony Blair, often considered reticent about his religious beliefs in 10 years as British prime minister, has said religion is hugely important to him.

Blair said politicians spoke about religious faith in America but if you did so in Britain "frankly people do think you are a nutter (crazy)".

Last year, in an untypical remark, he sparked criticism from anti-war campaigners when he said that God would judge whether he had been right to go to war in Iraq, a decision that was deeply unpopular with many British voters.

Blair is widely believed to be considering converting from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism, a switch he was always apparently reluctant to make when prime minister.

When Blair was once pressed in an interview about his beliefs, his press spokesman Alastair Campbell famously interrupted and said: "We don't do God."

But the former prime minister, who stepped down in June after a decade in power to become a Middle East peace envoy, was much more open in a BBC TV documentary about what motivates him.

"You know if I am honest about it, yes of course it was hugely important. You know you can't have a religious faith and it be an insignificant aspect because it's, it's profound about you and about you as a human being," he said.