Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was interviewed by Nicky Gumbel on the first day of the HTB Leadership Conference at the Royal Albert Hall today - attended by more than 4,300 delegates from over 50 countries.

He spoke of his Christian faith and the challenges facing a political leader in the modern world. At the end, he was given a standing ovation.

Nicky and Pippa Gumbel opened the conference and worship was led by Tim Hughes and the HTB band and choir.

Nicky Gumbel gave a talk based on the Bible text 'Love one another'. He said, 'This is a conference with a purpose. The purpose is to see the transformation of our nation.'

Seminar streams on the four themes of Culture, Church, Community and Commerce were held in the afternoon. In the Commerce stream, Nicky Gumbel interviewed Hector Sants, Chief Executive of the Financial Services Authority among other business leaders.

See Press Association news report here

Tony Blair writes on the Alpha course and inter-faith relations on the Huffington Post here