TONY BLAIR faced criticism yesterday - but not the critics, having banished them to another room.

The Prime Minister was due to be grilled by a panel of experts on a radio show. Already, Conservative leader Michael Howard had been in the studio, in front of the assembled audience, while Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy had been interviewed in Scotland.

But the panel - including representatives from Amnesty International, the British Medical Association, the National Union of Teachers, the Victims of Crime Trust, human rights organisation Liberty and Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered Stephen -was "told to leave" the studio after a message was relayed that the Labour leader would only answer queries from the public on the show.

The group said they were told there had been "confusion" between the radio show and No 10, and Labour later said Mr Blair had wanted to spend time talking to the public.

But agony aunt Claire Rayner, president of the Patients Association, who also campaigns on elderly issues, accused Mr Blair of being "chicken".

She said: "A producer came and told us he was sorry but Mr Blair wouldn't talk to us, he just doesn't want us there. I said 'chicken' fairly loudly.

"The official line is there was some confusion between his office and the office here.

"I don't believe it. I think he chickened out. He didn't want an audience that was well-informed.

"I am not in the least bit surprised. I was expecting it to be face-to-face, I thought they were all going to be here."

A life-long Labour voter, she said she now intends to vote Liberal Democrat.

The programme was due to be broadcast across a network of 200 radio stations.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said she was bemused by the Prime Minister's failure to answer the panel's questions.

She said. "I do not understand what he is afraid of. Why is the Prime Minister afraid of Claire Rayner?

''I had a good go at Mr Howard for being so awful to travellers and asylum seekers and, although I wasn't convinced by his answers, at least he faced my questions."

Mr Howard also came under attack from Stephen Lawrence's mother for failing to order a public inquiry into the teenager's death.

The Conservative leader was Home Secretary when the student was killed in a race attack in south London in 1993.