Former British prime minister Tony Blair is reluctant to explain a passage from his new book that referenced a 'potentially sexual element' to former US president Bill Clinton's 'curiosity about people.'

'If I try explaining it I'll get into difficulty,' he said an interview with ABC broadcast Sunday.

'I was also convinced that his (Clinton's) behaviour arose in part from his inordinate interest in and curiosity about people. In respect of men it was expressed in friendship. In respect of women there was potentially a sexual element,' Blair wrote in his new book, entitled 'A Journey: My Political Life' that has become a bestseller.

Blair said politicians live with such pressure that to release the stress, they often rebel against themselves, and sometimes that can take the form of an affair.

The former British leader said that if people want to know everything about their elected officials, they should be prepared to learn about their flaws.

'They've got to understand they're also human beings and you've got to be somewhat forgiving therefore of the human frailty,' Blair said.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)