Blair's talks with Spain's new PM

Tony Blair worked closely with Spain's outgoing prime minister

Tony Blair has held his first telephone conversation with Spain's new socialist prime minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

Mr Zapatero - who was against the war in Iraq - won power on Sunday in the wake of the Madrid terror attacks.

He has already indicated that he wants to withdraw Spain's 1,300 troops currently stationed in the Gulf region.

Downing Street said the talks between the two leaders were "warm and friendly" and lasted 15 minutes.

Mr Blair will meet his Spanish counterpart for face-to-face talks when Mr Zapatero assumes office. That is likely to be in a few weeks time.

British MPs on Monday observed a two-minute silence in the House of Commons in memory of those killed in the Madrid bombings.

Close relations

Mr Blair enjoyed a close relationship with Mr Zapatero's predecessor, Jose Maria Aznar who supported the invasion of Iraq.

BBC chief political correspondent Mark Mardell said the poll result left the British prime minister "pretty isolated" in Europe.

Mr Zapatero used strong language in criticising the war

The socialist leader has already attacked the US and UK saying that Mr Blair and George Bush need to engage in some self-criticism in the wake of the war - which he described as a "big disaster".

Earlier UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he did not believe Britain had exposed itself to a greater threat of terror attack because of its role in the Iraq war.

Mr Straw told BBC Radio 4's Today: "I do not believe we are less safe as a result of the activity we have taken [in Iraq].

"I believe that over the medium term, still more the long term, we will be much safer."

Downing Street is planning to seek clarification over Spain's plans in relation to its troops after Mr Zapatero indicated the withdrawal might only take place if events in Iraq did not change.

The AFP newswire quoted the new Spanish prime minister as saying: "You can't bombard a people just in case they pose a perceived threat."

Commons Leader Peter Hain has said that the new Spanish government's opposition to the Iraq conflict should not be a barrier to co-operation.

Mr Zapatero's socialist party claimed a surprise win on Sunday as authorities revealed one of the men arrested over last Thursday's rail bombings, which killed 200, had ties to al-Qaeda.

'No opt out'

In his Today programme interview, Mr Straw was asked about the perception Spain had been targeted in the Madrid atrocity because of its involvement in Iraq.

He replied: "So far as people feeling that they have become a bigger target, obviously we are going to hear a lot of this argument.

"All I can say is that no one should get the idea that somehow if you were a country which was opposed to the military action in Iraq, you are less of a target for al-Qaeda and these terrible Islamic fanatics. Not at all.

"If you look at where this terrorism takes place, the truth about these fanatics is that unless you are 100% with the terrorists, you are seen to be 100% against them.

"Nobody, nobody should believe that somehow we can opt out of the war against Islamic terrorism."

Some Spaniards say the government was too quick to blame Basque separatists

Robin Cook, Mr Straw's predecessor as foreign secretary, told BBC Radio 4's World At One the Iraq war had been a "spectacular mistake" for the fight against terrorism.

"What we did in invading Iraq was to help polarise opinion between the Islamic world and the West in a way that was unhelpful," he said.

The war had given al-Qaeda a propaganda boost and a whole new field of operations in Iraq, as well as breaking up the post-11 September global coalition.

Mr Cook thought Mr Blair was undergoing a "period of reflection" over the war.

But he argued many of the new Spanish premier's priorities chimed with those of the British Labour Party, so it would be strange to suggest his election left Britain more isolated.