Straw backs exile deal for Saddam

Going into exile might mean war avoided

Allowing Saddam Hussein immunity from prosecution if he goes into exile could be a "fair trade" for avoiding war, UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said.

Echoing remarks by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Mr Straw said that letting the Iraqi leader settle in a different country would be a bitter pill to swallow, but might be a price worth paying.

I would be delighted if Saddam Hussein threw in the towel and said 'The game's up'

Donald Rumsfeld

Mr Straw told the BBC that leaders of Arab states were privately urging Saddam Hussein to go into exile to spare his people and the region a war.

Such a move would have the backing of the Conservative opposition.

A spokesman said: "We have always made clear that the removal of Saddam voluntarily would be a desirable outcome."

Despite the exile option being raised, pressure continued to be increased on Iraq, with UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon due to announce that thousands more British troops were being sent to the Gulf region.

'Fair trade'

Asked about Mr Rumsfeld's comments, Mr Straw told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think it is a very sensible suggestion which we have got to examine.

"And although of course it would be unpalatable to see any degree of immunity being offered to the Saddam Hussein regime, as Donald Rumsfeld said, if the alternative is a war I think most people would swallow hard and accept that it was in his words a fair trade."

There is no sign that Saddam would be willing to go into exile

Mr Straw's comments came as press reports suggested that the Saudi Arabian government was working hard to avoid a war in the region by offering an exile deal for Saddam.

Mr Rumsfeld - regarded as one of the most hawkish voices in the US administration - said he would favour granting the Iraqi president and his top aides a "haven" abroad if it could avert a war.

Speaking on ABC television, Mr Rumsfeld said he "would recommend that some provision be made so that the senior leadership in that country and their families could be provided haven in some other country".

"And I think that that would be a fair trade to avoid a war," he added.

Last choice

But he declined to say whether the US administration would be willing to give the Iraqi leadership immunity from prosecution for war crimes.

Saddam Hussein has given no indication that he would accept exile, and on Friday warned that Iraq would defeat any invader.

President George Bush has demanded "regime change" in Iraq, accusing Saddam Hussein of repeatedly violating UN resolutions on disarmament.

Mr Straw is flying to the US on Monday for a meeting with fellow foreign ministers at the UN.

He said: "What defense secretary Rumsfeld's comments also emphasise is that across the US administration as well as for the British Government war is literally a last choice, and we want to do everything we can to resolve this issue of Iraq's disarmament of its weapons of mass destruction by peaceful means.

"But we also know that we have to keep turning up the pressure, because it is only pressure that Iraq responds to."