Keep nerve over Iraq, says Straw

Blair and Howard put on a united front

The UK is pushing for the world to keep up the "unrelenting pressure" on Iraq as weapons inspections prepare to deliver their crucial new report.

Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix and International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei will give their latest verdict to the United Nations Security Council on Friday.

For the international community now to lose its nerve would make the world a much more dangerous place

Jack Straw
Foreign Secretary

Ahead of the meeting, Tony Blair has written to fellow European leaders urging them not to rule out military action if it was necessary, said EU diplomats.

On Thursday, UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Franco-German moves for more weapons inspectors would send a message to Saddam Hussein that "defiance pays".

In a statement to MPs, Mr Straw said the world would become a "much more dangerous place" if the UN lost its nerve in the Iraq crisis and failed to back up its words with action.

He "hoped and prayed" for a peaceful resolution to the crisis, but argued the threat of war had to be kept up.

Missile find

Mr Straw said Iraq was in material breach of the latest UN resolution over its alleged weapons of mass destruction.

The inspectors are expected to discuss their discovery of a a missile in Iraq which experts say could have a range of 112 miles.

On Thursday, Mr Blair said the find was "extremely serious".

Peace campaigners around the world are preparing for Saturday's protest

"Any evidence that comes to light ... is extremely important because it demonstrates the futility of giving them more time when it's proof obviously they are not co-operating," he added.

But it later emerged Baghdad itself told weapons inspectors about the missile but insisted any extra range was negligible.

Mr Howard said he agreed "completely" with Mr Blair's assessment of the significance of the missile find - Iraq is not allowed missiles with a range of more than 93 miles.

"If it is the case, then that's just further evidence of a long pattern of deceit and evasion and trickery," said Mr Howard.

'Disarray'

Both leaders stressed their agreement not only over Iraq but over North Korea.

Mr Howard said both countries needed to be dealt with.

"I believe very strongly that one of the reasons North Korea has behaved as she has is that she's watched the disarray of the world dealing with Iraq," he said.

Blix's report on Friday is seen as crucial

There is a special European Union summit on Monday to try to heal rifts over Iraq policy.

Downing Street said Mr Blair had written to Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, who is chairing the meeting.

He also spoke to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Number 10 said it was a "good conversation", with both men sharing objectives but having differences about how to achieve them.

Second resolution?

In the Commons on Thursday, Conservative foreign affairs spokesman Alan Duncan argued that the European rifts of the last fortnight made it "touch and go" whether a second UN resolution authorising military force could be agreed.

But Lib Dem chairman Mark Oaten suggested that ignoring any vetoes of a second resolution could also undermine the security council's role.

Mr Blair has said he believes a second UN resolution is still possible, but reiterated that action against Saddam would be taken without one if necessary.

France could exercise its veto as could Russia and China.

Protests

Mr Howard said: "If the security council fails this test it will have a crippling impact on its authority for years into the future."

A House of Commons motion on Thursday signed by MPs of all parties including former Labour ministers demands the right to vote on war.

They reject the notion promoted by the government that such a vote would remove the element of surprise in the event of an attack on Iraq.

Those calls come ahead of Saturday's anti-war protest in London, and other world cities.

Demonstrations are also planned in Glasgow, where Labour is holding its spring conference.