The Al-Qadisiyah newspaper said that the meeting was a flagrant violation of international law, and a threat to the national security of Iraq.

Other newspapers described the talks as a dangerous precedent for all Arab governments.

Following the talks, the UK Government announced its support for a United Nations tribunal to try Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity.

BBC's James Robbins: "London is the main centre of Iraqi opposition"

Foreign Office Minister Derek Fatchett gave the idea his backing after the meeting of 15 Iraqi opposition groups. The Foreign Office called the meeting to urge the groups to work together in the campaign against the Iraqi president.

Mr Fatchett said he believed the international community would support a trial of Saddam Hussein, similar to the tribunals being held after the conflict in Yugoslavia.

"I think that campaign is one that would attract support not just from the UK but from the international community," he said.

Derek Fatchett: "Saddam is not permanent"

Mr Fatchett said: "One of the reasons to bring the opposition groups together is that if and when there is a change of regime in Baghdad, it would be extremely useful to have had the opposition groups working together so that Baghdad does not fall into chaos or anarchy."

But he ruled out sending large amounts of money or any weapons, saying that Britain would look only to back unspecified individual projects.

The US Congress has made nearly $100m available for military aid to the Iraqi opposition, although the Clinton administration says it must first have a viable and co-ordinated political leadership.

Previous CIA attempts to undermine the regime have come to nothing. Neither the US nor Britain has declared a new policy of trying to overthrow Saddam Hussein, but both say they would welcome his disappearance.

But serious concerns exist over the quality of the opposition within Iraq.

Donald Anderson: "a grand jamboree"

The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Donald Anderson, told the BBC: "Many of them have been infiltrated by Iraqi agents and there are allegations of corruption against others.

"So they are a pretty disparate group, who no doubt make very lavish claims about what they can deliver.

"If there is to be a policy of this nature, it is best not done in the fanfare of publicity and a grand jamboree at the Foreign Office with the minister of state."

The groups at the Foreign Office on Monday covered a wide spectrum - Islamists, Arab nationalists, Iraqi army defectors, Kurds, even monarchists - and their rivalries have been the despair of the western powers for years.