I was the one that brought it in, but not only for the north-east, for every area so we can develop all the regional economies, lift up the national productivity, get greater wealth and share it more evenly.

I will have failed in this if in five years there are not many more people using public transport and far fewer journeys by car. It is a tall order but I want you to hold me to it.

I'm going to introduce you to a revolutionary thought - you can go slower and get there quicker. And that's to do with flow. As soon as you made it two lanes and brought in the 70 (mph) and 50 (mph), you got there quicker. It meant the flow of the traffic was better, there were less accidents, less deaths, I think that's an important factor.

It's moving in the right direction. It was in decline under the previous administration.

We now have a satisfactory solution not only to coalition forces, but also to the Iraqi authorities themselves.

There's no excuse, it's just an opportunity that presented in a limited way and that happened and as soon as the press rang me I didn't deny it I just said 'that's it' and I had to go home and explain it.

There is progress taking place, growth is better. We're only talking about two years there.