TONY Blair denied that taxes would have to rise after the election to pay for Labour's spending plans.

In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC's Jeremy Paxman, Mr Blair appeared to rule out the introduction of a local income tax to replace the council tax.

He also admitted that he did not know how many failed asylum seekers there were in the country.

In The Paxman Interviews, broadcast on BBC1, the Prime Minister was challenged directly over the question of tax rises.

"You are going to have to raise taxes after the election, aren't you?" Mr Paxman asked.

Mr Blair replied: "No, you can't say that on the basis of the spending plans we have.

"The spending proposals we have are adequately catered for by the tax plans"

Asked if there was any question of a local income tax being introduced, Mr Blair said: "No. We have a review into the council tax and what's the right way to replace it, so you can't foreclose options.

"But for me, the local income tax has always been a problem. It's all very well for the Lib Dems to say get rid of the council tax and everyone says that's fantastic.

"But if you are a two-earner or three-earner household, you are going to pay a lot more money.

"We've got a review, so I can't start closing everything off.

"But personally, I think there are big problems with a local income tax."

His comments came after a day of wrangling between the major parties over the future of the council tax and what might replace it.

In the Newsnight Special, Mr Blair was repeatedly challenged over how many failed asylum seekers there were in the country.

"I can't be sure of the numbers of people who are illegals in this country, for the same reason that the previous government couldn't.

"What I can say is that the asylum system has been toughened up, tightened up, hugely.

"According to the UN Commission for Refugees, the asylum figures have fallen by more than half over the past two or three years."

Asked if he had a rough idea of the number, Mr Blair said it was "pointless speculating".

He said he did not make a "working assumption" of the numbers and he denied that the Government had lost control of the country's borders.

The way to tackle the problem was precisely as the Government had done by "cleaning up the system, removing the tiers of appeal and improving the removal system".

Mr Blair again insisted that if elected on May 5, he would "serve a full term" as Prime Minister.

Asked if he had told Chancellor Gordon Brown when he would stand down, he said: "No, I've said to Gordon the same as I've said to everyone. If you elect the Prime Minister, you serve the term."

Asked if he had done a deal with Mr Brown, he said: "You don't do deals about jobs like this. Gordon and I have been working extremely closely together. It has been a great partnership. I hope it has also been a good partnership for the country.

"He has been a magnificent Chancellor. He has produced tremendous economic strength in this country. We can be proud, I hope, of what we have achieved for the country."

Mr Blair is issuing a pledge to cut crime by 15 per cent if Labour wins a third term in office.