Frost opens with Blair in al-Jazeera English launch

Sir David Frost has revealed how he investigated al-Jazeera's credentials with his own high-level contacts in Whitehall and Washington before agreeing to sign up to its long-delayed English language channel, which launched yesterday.

Sir David, who is scheduled to welcome Tony Blair as the first guest to his show on Friday, said he initially had qualms about signing for the broadcaster after trenchant criticism from the American right.



Al-Jazeera English launched at midday and will be accessible in the UK to anyone with a satellite dish and via its broadband internet site. Yesterday it was revealed that the US cable network Comcast had pulled out of talks to carry the channel, citing lack of capacity.

It hopes to offer a new, Middle Eastern perspective on world events as an alternative to CNN and BBC World. But it will not be available in America via either EchoStar, Comcast or Rupert Murdoch's DirecTV at launch, although US viewers will be able to tune in via the GlobeCast satellite.