Tim Sebastian: 'It's not a social event'

He's the scourge of politicians around the world. Michael Church meets Tim Sebastian, the tough-talking host of 'Hardtalk'

Bowing out from On the Record, John Humphrys lamented the demise of the "in-depth, one-on-one political interview", in which the BBC apparently saw "little point".

That may be true of our dismally parochial domestic channels, but it ignores the exception to be found nightly on BBC News 24. When Tim Sebastian is on form, the HARDtalk interview is both a coruscating analysis and a riveting high-wire act. Night after night, he shows how to achieve enlightenment through sharply focused questions backed by armouries of killer facts.

Consider two typical weeks in December: revelatory interviews with our man at the UN, with an Ethiopian government spokesman and with Jimmy Carter, plus interrogations of India's prime political movers that have thrown that country's crises into shocking relief. Courteous with Carter and sympathetic with a cancer campaigner in Delhi, Sebastian brought his artillery to bear on absolutely everyone else. The Kashmiri separatist was repeatedly accused of not wanting peace, and India's Foreign Minister was lambasted for his "appalling" human-rights record; India's national security adviser was bluntly told that he himself was the problem.

This is a spectator sport with a deadly serious purpose, as many people around the world have discovered. HARDtalk's UK viewing figures may be small, but it's watched in 242 million households in 200 countries. "It's a marvellous job. I don't know of a better one," Sebastian beams. "It's a privilege to be able to ask foreign politicians tough questions – often on behalf of the people they rule. We may not get instant results, but people often write in, saying how glad they are we've asked the questions."

Asking the right questions is something this politely forceful 50-year-old seems to have been born to do, but he has served a long apprenticeship. An Oxford-educated linguist and author of eight novels, he went to Warsaw as the BBC's correspondent in 1979, graduating to Europe correspondent three years later. In 1984 he went to Moscow, then in 1986 to Washington, where he was based until 1989. He has won many awards, including Bafta's Richard Dimbleby award and the Royal Television Society's TV journalist of the year and – twice – interviewer of the year.

How often do his interviewees storm out? "Just twice in six years, and both were Brits. Clare Short wanted to, but restrained herself. Americans are often surprised by the questioning – plus Mrs Milosevic, who found it disrespectful." How often does he feel dislike for his interviewees? "Very rarely, because for those 25 minutes you put all personal feelings aside. You're there to probe and dig and uncover what you can. I make a point of not talking to people beforehand."

One surprise is how formidable some of his opponents turn out to be: he particularly likes lawyers, "who all have their strategies". But so does he: those killer facts wreak havoc because of the way they're deployed. "We do a lot of research. And when it's going to be a tough debate, we rehearse arguments. You try to push them into an avenue where hopefully a trap is set."

He'd love the chance to catch out Tony Blair, but the Prime Minister has never responded to his invitations. Putin is also in his sights: as a Russian-speaker, Sebastian will have no trouble with the language.

The high point of last year, he says, was getting two Israelis and two Palestinian officials to engage in debate while fighting raged outside. "It was very strange – they were on first-name terms, and then they went off to continue killing each other. We'd like to do more of that sort of thing, not because we imagine we are the peace process, but to let people see that dialogue can happen."

With war looming, Sebastian sees domestic human rights as a major issue. "The next big terrorist attack will lead to fundamental changes in the values that have supposedly set us apart from much of the world. At present in Britain, eight people are incarcerated without charge or trial – it means that a fundamental principle has been junked, which is dangerous. We may see more principles junked in the wake of the next attack. We'll be talking about that soon."