by David Barnett Content Editor Thanks to the Telegraph & Argus, the people of Bradford have been allowed unprecedented access to public figures – right to the very top.

Just last week an audience of readers grilled the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at an event co-organised by the T&A in the city centre.

The event was just the latest in a series of live and online events which give you, our readers, the chance to put your questions direct to the people who have an impact on your lives.

After being contacted by Mr Clegg’s people, we offered through the newspaper and the website the chance for people to turn up at the Kala Sangam centre at St Peter’s House in Little Germany on Bank Holiday Monday.

After taking questions for an hour and entering into debate on topics ranging from pensions to education, Mr Clegg later declared Bradford as one of the most satisfying of these “town hall”-style events he had taken part in.

In October 2009 – seven months before he was due to cede control of the country to Mr Clegg and his Conservative partner David Cameron – Gordon Brown was in the city, to face an invited audience from Bradford in an event, again organised by the Telegraph & Argus.

So in the space of little over a year and a half, that’s two men occupying the most powerful positions in the Government who have been put at the mercy of T&A readers’ questions.

But it isn’t all the upper echelons of power to which we give access.

Through the internet we have also operated a series of “webchats” allowing you to put your questions to people working on the frontline of a variety of areas in the district.

We gathered experts together in our offices on Hall Ings and over a set period of time the public were able to post questions to them via our website and receive immediate answers.

The first successful webchat was in October with officials from Bradford Council, the police and the NHS who spoke out about dangers posed by alcohol misuse, and encouraged residents to drink sensibly.

In November, top police, health and Council officers fielded your queries about illegal substances as part of Tackling Drugs, Changing Lives Week. The panel was made up of Neighbourhood Policing Team Inspector Darren Minton of Bradford South Police, Hugh Bryson of Young Person’s Drug and Alcohol Service from Bradford Council and Liz Barry, joint commissioning manager for substance misuse at NHS Bradford and Airedale.

Sport wasn’t left out, either, as the following month the Bradford Bulls boss Mick Potter took part in a webchat to talk directly to Rugby League fans in the city.

We’ll be doing more of these live events and webchats in the coming months, so watch out for announcements – and remember, only the T&A allows such direct access to the people who matter.