Two regional newspapers in the north west were granted exclusive interviews with the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she visited the region last week.

The Liverpool Echo and the Lancashire Evening Telegraph both spoke to Dr Rice during her tour of the area with foreign secretary Jack Straw.

Echo columnist Joe Riley was able to interview the pair of politicians just before they departed from Liverpool for their surprise visit to Baghdad.

Joe told HoldtheFrontPage: "It was a difficult combination to do for a local paper.

"It was a strange type of feature because of its broad terms of reference. It was a bit of a mixed bag and perhaps difficult to strike a mood in the article.

"I tried not to write a PR piece, by asking her what she thought of the protests surrounding her visit and didn't pretend that she'd come to open a flower show.

"It was a peculiar challenge going through the rehearsed issues and also finding something unique to us – by asking her what she thought of Liverpool."

Joe said he tried to retain some cynicism for his article, by highlighting the costs of organising and policing the visit, but said that even though the Echo has taken an anti-war stance it was important for the paper to cover the event.

He said: "Do we really pay the price, smile and wave and think it's good for Liverpool, or eventually say that enough is enough?

"But, as the 2008 Capital of Culture, we have to be mature enough to host these things."

And what does Joe, who has interviewed Jack Straw on several previous occasions, think of Dr Rice?

He said: "She is very charming. No one reaches that kind of position without being a very hard nut to crack, but she has managed to retain her femininity, despite all the power, and was very easy to talk to."

In her interview with the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, Dr Rice said she had enjoyed her visit to a local high school where she had been impressed by a student council meeting, and was also pleased with the Blackburn Rovers shirt that she had received at the club's Ewood Park stadium.