FORMER BBC director general Greg Dyke last night revealed he spurned an olive branch from Tony Blair following the Hutton Report.

Mr Dyke, who was in the region yesterday speaking to business leaders, said his former friend Mr Blair had asked him for a "chat" to smooth the waters following his resignation from the BBC.

He said: "I have not seen Tony Blair since.

"I did get an invitation to go along for a chat but I chose not to go.

"I find it very difficult to believe anything he says."

Mr Dyke, who says he feels vindicated by the fact no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq, said he is no longer in the Labour Party, which he helped fund for the 1997 General Election, and that he would probably vote for the Liberal Democrats in this year's poll.

"My situation is particularly personal," he said. "And it is about saying I don't like what has happened under Blair's leadership."

Mr Dyke resigned from the BBC a year ago this week after the Hutton Report into the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly.

Speaking after a business event on Teesside, Mr Dyke said he was eager for another challenging post in industry.

But when questioned about a rumoured bid for ITV, he said: "I wouldn't get too excited about that. I always say no comment on anything about that. I didn't say that I wasn't bidding, but what I did say was that I have nothing to say."

More than 130 business people listened to Mr Dyke's tips on leadership at an event at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium.

He was speaking at the second event of the newly-formed Business Forum.

The seminar was organised by the North-East Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with Middlesbrough Council, Network of Intermediaries and Eversheds law firm.