Blair vows to disarm Iraq

TONY BLAIR says Saddam Hussein will be disarmed of weapons of mass destruction — with or without a second United Nations resolution.

The warning came as the British prime minister insisted the world had to send a message that trade in chemical and biological weapons would not be tolerated.

Mr Blair told his monthly televised news conference he was "quite sure" Iraq has such weapons and that there was the evidence to prove it.

Those weapons posed a "direct threat to British national security", he said.

It was only a matter of time before the problems of weapons of mass destruction came together, he said.

Mr Blair said he received information every day of states trying to get hold of weapons of mass destruction.

He was speaking after cabinet minister Clare Short's plea for the British public to make sure America does not act without United Nations authority.

Ms Short does not want Britain to join any unilateral American military action against Iraq.

The prime minister said he understood public concerns about possible war but argued most people would back action if Iraq defied the UN.

He dismissed any suggestion of cabinet splits as "nonsense".

He said his preference and expectation was for a fresh resolution backing military action if Iraq was deemed to have breached UN rules.

But if any country put an "unreasonable or unilateral" block on such resolution, "we have said we can't be in a position where we are confined in that way", he said.

"However, I do not believe as a matter of fact that will happen."

Mr Blair outlined his confidence in the weapons inspections team and said things would be clearer when the inspectors reported on January 27.

But he said Iraq had last month made a "false declaration" about its weapons programmes.

Meanwhile, a senior US official has bluntly warned Iraq that if it does not surrender weapons of mass destruction it will face military action.

The head of the US Defence Department policy board, Richard Perle, said United Nations inspectors currently scouring Iraq had no chance of finding weapons because they had been hidden.

About 20 members of 102 logistics brigade including its commander have arrived in the Gulf region to make "contingency plans" for any deployment of frontline troops.