Forty-five per cent of British people oppose a US-led war on Iraq under any circumstances, a BBC-commissioned opinion poll published today has found.
The poll, conducted over the past week by ICM, shows 40 per cent approval if a new UN resolution endorsed the action.
Just nine per cent thought a US-led invasion could go ahead without UN backing, according to the poll of 1,000 adults.
The poll also found a gender divide on the Iraq issue, with around one-third of men and 55 per cent of women opposed to war in any circumstances.
Opinion has remained virtually unchanged since the BBC's last similar poll a fortnight ago, despite a concerted effort in Washington and London to make the case for action against Iraq and its leader Saddam Hussein.
Just over half of those questioned said they trusted Mr Blair to do what he believed was right for Britain in the crisis. But only 23 per cent believed him when he said that the reason for threatening military action was the need to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction - against 28 per cent who believed that any war would be over oil.
The poll, taken before Monday's release of a new tape purported to come from al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, found that 56 per cent of Britons believed there were links between al-Qaeda and Saddam. Twenty-seven per cent thought there was not.
AFP