Channel 4 will air former politician Tony Benn's interview with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein this evening, it has been confirmed.

The network will air around 25 minutes of the hour-long interview during Channel 4 News from 7pm, which will be anchored by Jon Snow.

It is understood the BBC were originally planning to buy the interview for broadcast on BBC Two, however talks with the Arab Television Network, the company who own the rights to the piece, fell through after the corporation refused to pay more than the bare production costs.

Channel 4 refused to confirm how much it had paid for the interview -- the first the dictator has given to a Westerner in 12 years -- but sources pointed towards a five-figure sum.