Prime Minister Tony Blair has called on religious leaders to "face up to reality" on the HIV and AIDS pandemic and consider the use of condoms to halt the further spread of the virus.

In a television interview on World AIDS Day Friday, Mr Blair criticised the Vatican's longstanding opposition to the use of condoms, as he argued that preaching abstinence was not enough, reports The Independence.

Speaking to MTV, Mr Blair, Anglican, said: "The danger is if we have a sort of blanket ban from religious hierarchy saying it's wrong to do it, then you discourage people from doing it in circumstances where they need to protect their lives."

Mr Blair's criticism comes as the Vatican continues to consider a limited use of condoms following a report released last week by Cardinal Lozano Barragan, the head of the Vatican's Council for pastoral healthcare, which advised that a limited use of barrier contraception might be acceptable in the fight against AIDS.

The Prime Minister made clear that the government would be increasing its distribution of condoms throughout the developing world.

He said: "We are spending £1.5bn over the next few years trying to fight HIV/Aids. It's also very important that we work on prevention, and we are planning to uplift the amount of condoms that we will be distributing too. They may be sex workers, they may be women in a difficult situation. If they don't get that help, there's no point in being prissy about it, then they end up with HIV/Aids."

Mr Blair said that he and his wife had taught the "facts of life" to their children as a couple, The Independence reported.

"When I was growing up it was more to do with telling youngsters about the actual act of sex. I think what it is about now is telling them about the dangers of having unprotected sex," he said.

Mr Blair insisted that people should be encouraged to protect themselves against HIV, and that it was "silly" to say otherwise.

He said: "I think that the real key to it is education. That is about two things: educating people about sex when they are young, but also making sure that if people are sexually active, then they are taking protection. There is a big debate about this; how far are you going by saying to people, 'take protection with you'? Are you encouraging young people to have sex?"

Mr Blair added: "You should try to encourage people to be responsible, but you should recognise that, if you are sexually active, it's better to be sexually active and responsibly so."