Blair appeal over core values

Clinton has warned of the threat from North Korea

Tony Blair has urged a group of allies from around the world to keep "solidarity, social justice and social democracy" at the heart of future reform programmes in their countries.

He said "progressives and modern social democrats" may make mistakes, but those values must remain at the forefront of policy-making.

The prime minister was opening the final day of a conference of centre-left politicians in London.

The Progressive Governance Conference is being seen as taking forward the so-called "third way" agenda promoted by Mr Blair.

The third way is seen as operating outside traditional "left" and "right" labels.

The prime minister was taking part in a question and answer session alongside South African President Thabo Mbeke and New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark.

Opportunity

Later, delegates were heading to Surrey for a working dinner at the start of what is being called "the Progressive Governance Summit".

Fourteen heads of state are taking part in the summit, which will continue on Monday.

Downing Street said it was an "important opportunity for those with similar political philosophies to address topics of shared interest".

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder are among those taking part along with Mr Blair, Ms Clark and Mr Mbeki.

I think this is a very major deal, much bigger than is being presented in the press, and requires urgent action Bill Clinton on North Korea

Downing Street has denied reports of a row between Mr Blair and Chancellor Schroeder over parts of a draft communique for the summit.

Chancellor Schroeder was said to be angry about a paragraph which read: "Where a population is suffering serious harm, as a result of internal war, insurgency, repression or state failure, and the state in question is unwilling or unable to halt or avert it, the principle of non-intervention yields to the international responsibility to protect."

'No disagreement'

Reports suggested that the paragraph was aimed at justifying the Iraq war even without evidence of weapons of mass destruction and also proposing military intervention in countries where leaders were judged to be causing suffering to their people.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "At no stage has there been any disagreement between the UK and Germany."

He said there would not be a "running commentary" on summit documents.

On Saturday, former US President Bill Clinton told delegates at the conference that North Korea was a bigger threat to the world than Iraq had been.

He called on the US to take the lead and resolve the threat from the Far East country.

He also called for a bigger role from the international community in Iraq and said more troops should be sent to Afghanistan.

He said Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, was a "prisoner in the capital of Kabul".

'Major deal'

Mr Blair is set to visit South Korea next week to discuss North Korea's nuclear threat with the country's president, Roh Moo-hyun.

Mr Clinton was speaking at an open meeting attended by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Chilean President Ricardo Lagos.

He said: "I think this is a very major deal, much bigger than is being presented in the press, and requires urgent action.

"Our country has to take the lead and I believe the Chinese and the Russians and Japanese will help, the South Koreans will do their part, but what we really need is for the United Nations and all other security to support this and to be able to help fund it.

"It's not a lot of money by the standards of what we're spending every month in Iraq - it's peanuts - and it could save the world one hell of a lot of trouble and a lot of lives."