BRITAIN: Mr Tony Blair has said Iraq is in breach of United Nations Security Council resolutions and that President Saddam Hussein's accumulation of weapons of mass destruction must be dealt with.
However, the British Prime Minister has again been served notice of the "deep unease" among Labour MPs that Britain may be moving by degrees toward war with Iraq.
And the "Father" of the House of Commons, Mr Tam Dalyell, has repeated his insistence that any action against Iraq should be taken by the UN, and that any British commitment to support US action should first be debated and approved by MPs.
With Labour tension rising ahead of Mr Blair's expected trip to Washington next month, a debate on Iraq was dramatically suspended yesterday after a junior Foreign Office minister, Mr Ben Bradshaw, accused Labour backbencher Mr George Galloway of being "an apologist" and "a mouthpiece" for President Saddam's regime. Mr Galloway called the minister "a liar" and refused the chair's instruction to withdraw the unparliamentary charge, insisting: "His imputation that I am a mouthpiece for a dictator is a clear imputation of dishonour. He is the one who should be withdrawing, not me."
During the debate Mr Dalyell said the idea of bombing Iraq was "preposterous" and would lead to "terrible consequences". The British government, he said, should talk to Iraq "on terms of dignity and good sense".
Mr Alan Simpson MP warned Mr Blair against giving the US a "blank cheque" for military action. There was a danger, he said, of Mr Blair finding this was "a path he ends up walking alone". And Ms Alice Mahon, also Labour, said Britain was acting as America's "little bag carriers" and demanded: "Why is there something almost sacrosanct about using military actions instead of diplomacy?"
In the Commons chamber itself left-wing MP Ms Diane Abbot echoed the demand that MPs should have a vote on any military action, asking Mr Blair: "Are you aware of the growing concern outside, in the country, that we are by degrees moving towards war with Iraq?"
Mr Blair insisted no decisions had yet been taken in respect of possible action against Iraq. However he reminded MPs he had told them two days after the September 11th attacks on the US that the issue of weapons of mass destruction was an important one "that we would have to tackle".