The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, has signalled that Saddam Hussein may have just weeks left to avoid a US-led war against Iraq.
Speaking ahead of a week of major developments which will take him to Camp David for a summit with President Bush on Friday, Mr Blair again suggested that UN weapons inspectors be given time to complete their job, while indicating he did not see this in terms of months. He insisted that, if Saddam refused to co-operate with them, he must be disarmed by force.
In an interview on the BBC's Breakfast with Frost programme, Mr Blair also acknowledged that the British public did not yet see a direct threat from the Iraqi regime, and stressed he remained "very focused" on securing a second UN resolution ahead of any military action.
That reassurance came as the Conservative leader, Mr Iain Duncan Smith, accused the Blair government of failing to make the case for military action, and as yet another opinion poll showed Mr Blair convincing just 26 per cent of British people that Saddam Hussein was sufficiently dangerous to justify war, as opposed to a massive 68 per cent who say he has not convinced them.
The YouGov survey of almost 2,000 people for the Sunday Times found that Mr Blair has not even made the case among Labour's own supporters, with 40 per cent having been convinced by the Prime Minister, as against 53 per cent who had not.
The poll also found scepticism highest among Liberal Democrat voters, whose leader, Mr Charles Kennedy, yesterday spoke of public perception that Britain was "being bulldozed into war". Writing in the Observer, newspaper, Mr Kennedy warned Mr Blair: "The situation is rapidly developing into a test of confidence in the government and in Parliament. There is genuine public perception that we are being bulldozed into a war not of our choosing and not - on the basis of the evidence so far - vital to \ national interests."
Amid reports that Mr Blair has ordered the intelligence services to produce a new dossier on Saddam's alleged weapons of mass destruction to help fight the propoganda war, Mr Duncan Smith also called for a second UN resolution and admitted the British people still needed to be convinced.
Speaking on Sky's Sunday with Adam Boulton programme, the Conservative leader said: "I believe that the government has yet to properly make the case to the British people about why. . . these weapons of mass destruction could be used against British people both at home or possibly abroad."
Admitting continuing public concerns, Mr Blair again argued it was only a matter of time before international terrorism and weapons of mass destruction came together, telling Sir David Frost that a peaceful outcome over Iraq rested solely with Saddam Hussein.
While the weapons inspectors "have got to be given time to do the job" Mr Blair stressed they were "not detectives" and should not be engaged in a "game of hide and seek" with Saddam.
Echoing Defence Secretary Mr Geoff Hoon's admission that the inspectors need not uncover "a smoking gun" to trigger military action, Mr Blair also made it clear that non-co-operation by the Iraqi authorities would be sufficient to put them in breach of Resolution 1441.