Shoreham man asks the Prime Minister how he can sleep at night

Mr Coppendale, of Church Green, Shoreham, was part of a panel who asked the Prime Minister various questions on a Channel 5 programme the day before.

He asked Tony Blair if he would have authorised the war against Iraq if he had known there were no weapons of mass destruction.

When the Prime Minister replied that he would still have authorised the invasion, Mr Coppendale replied: "Tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children died '“ how do you manage to sleep at night?"

Mr Coppendale told the Herald: "People have told me that he looked a bit under pressure from my question, quite literally on the rails.

"He had this look of consternation about him when something was being said which was not of his design, or he did not agree with."

The former disc-jockey applied to take part in the show after submitting his question online.

He used to be a sports presenter on local radio. He also worked on the Today programme on Radio 4 for two years and has presented shows about County and Western music on Radio 2.

Mr Coppendale is currently working on a children's book. He said he had never been politically active before Tony Blair swept to power at the 1997 general election.

Since then, he had become more interested in politics and had even camped out overnight in London so he could see the Prime Minister give evidence at the Hutton Inquiry.

"I have always wanted to tell him what I thought of him. He is quite a vacuous sort of politician, but he is a good talker. You have to admire his sort of character.

"It's not only Iraq; it's the way this government interferes in our way of life, telling us how to live our lives."