BRITAIN: The Conservatives have accused Tony Blair's government of running Britain's armed forces "on empty". The charge came as the Defence Secretary, Mr Geoff Hoon, confirmed America's formal request for British military assistance in contingency planning for any war with Iraq, and as the chief of the defence staff warned that the demands of a protracted strike by firefighters could seriously undermine army planning for future military operations.
"Labour has been running the armed forces on empty. There is nothing left in the kitty for the unexpected," claimed Conservative defence spokesman Mr Bernard Jenkin, in direct response to the shock warning from Sir Michael Boyce.
Quoting Sir Michael, the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, told MPs that the armed services remained ready to meet any demand made of it by his government. However, Mr Blair was on the defensive last night as MPs prepared to debate the crisis over Iraq, with ministers and government whips battling to stave-off any significant rebellion by Labour backbenchers on the question of any military action against Saddam Hussein without the explicit approval of the UN Security Council.
The stage was set for another confrontation between the government and its internal anti-war faction, when the Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, told Labour MPs the government would not regard it as necessary to secure a second UN resolution in the event of a material breach by Iraq of the weapons inspections resolution.
Insisting that next Monday's Commons debate would be about the recent Security Council resolution, and not about any future military action, Mr Straw reportedly told Labour MPs that Resolution 1441 - which threatens "serious consequences" should the UN inspectors be unable to discharge their mandate - provided adequate cover for any subsequent action.
Anti-war MP Ms Alice Mahon said the Foreign Secretary was "quite explicit" that Britain would not be tied by any second resolution. She said ministers were desperate to avoid a repeat of the situation last September, when some 53 Labour MPs defied the government's policy on Iraq on a technical motion.
"There is a real push on now by the whips. They are going around saying it would be a vote against the UN, which it would not be. It would be a vote against American militarism."
Mr Blair confirmed Britain had received the same "general request" which President Bush had sent to 60 countries, asking if they would be prepared to provide troops for any war with Iraq.
Mr Blair and Mr Hoon both insisted Washington was not at the stage of asking for commitments in terms of specific numbers and emphasised that no war plan had been agreed. However, Mr Blair said if there was to be a breach of the UN resolution, and they considered military action was justified, "we would be part of any coalition to make sure that the will of the UN was upheld".
Downing Street confirmed that the American request was conveyed to Mr Hoon by the US ambassador on Monday.