Is Tony Blair a twin

A. No he's not, in answer to magicdave's question. But finding out anything about his two siblings is fiendishly difficult.

Q. But you have succeeded

A. Of course. This is the Answerbank. The Prime Minister has an elder brother and a younger sister. That's about all he admits to. I'll give you a quick family rundown.

Q. Go on then.

A. Tony’s parents are Leo Charles Lynton Blair and late Hazel Elizabeth (ne Corscadden). The three children are William James Lynton Blair, born 31 March 1950. In 1982 he married Katy Tse. They live in London. He, like Tony and wife, is a barrister. He became a QC in 1994 and has been a recorder - part-time judge - since 1998. He has edited two specialist books, the Encyclopaedia of Banking Law, published in 1982, and Banking and the Financial Services Act, which came out 11 years later.

Q. What about his education, education, education

A. William was educated at Fettes College, Edinburgh and Balliol College, Oxford. He is also a visiting Professor of Law to the London School of Economics. The only time he has communicated with the press he wrote: 'I am aged 44 and a QC. Beyond saying that I am very proud of my brother, I hope you will forgive me if I have no comment. Yours sincerely, Bill Blair.' Next comes Anthony.

Q. Anthony

A. Yes, Tony, the PM. Anthony Charles Lynton Blair was born in Edinburgh on 6 May 1953, educated at Durham Choristers School, Fettes College, Edinburgh; and St John's College, Oxford, where he became lead singer of Ugly Rumours. He married Cherie Booth, QC, in 1980. They have four children: Euan Anthony, Nicholas John, Kathryn Hazel and Leo George. He is has been MP for Sedgefield since June, 1983. His nickname at school was Bambi. He lists his clubs as Trindon Colliery and Deaf Hill Working Men's, Constituency Labour (Trindon); Fishburn Working Men's. His strident response to the World Trade Center atrocity has probably made him the world's second most powerful man. He lives at 10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA.

Q. And the kid sister

A. Very little is known about Sarah Blair. She was first mentioned only when she had the misfortune to be mugged in November, 1999, while walking to her home in Islington district soon after getting off a bus. Miss Blair, who was born in 1956, was returning home from her job as head of publishing at the Association for Information Management, when a youth grabbed her bag. A Downing Street spokesman said: 'Sarah Blair is a private person who has never sought publicity and has no desire to be in the public eye.' Only one other thing is known about Sarah: when she was eight, she was diagnosed with a form of infantile rheumatoid arthritis, called Still's disease, and she has never recovered fully.

Q. But are they a close family

A. Very much so. John Rentoul, the author of Tony Blair, once said: 'They all lived in Islington and when Blair was leader of the opposition and he needed a bit of privacy, he would go to Bill's house. They are certainly a close family. He talks about families and extended families. Neither his brother nor sister have any children, but they have both been involved in looking after Tony Blair's children.'

Q. What about George Orwell - was he a relative

A. No. The author of Animal Farm and 1984 - real name Eric Arthur Blair - was a different sort of socialist altogether. He would have been intrigued to see how T Blair brought about a Labour landslide - but I can imagine the old curmudgeon sitting next to Tony Benn and heckling from the back of the party conference.

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By Steve Cunningham