Blow for Blair as Iraq rift widens
And Mr Blair's International Development Secretary, Clare Short, signalled that she will resign from the Government if Britain goes to war against Iraq without UN backing.
The blow came as US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he held out hope of securing a majority UN vote in favour of imposing the March 17 deadline for Saddam Hussein to prove he has disarmed.
Loughborough MP Andrew Reed said he was quitting as unpaid Parliamentary Private Secretary to Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett, insisting that the UN had to provide the route for resolving the crisis over Saddam's weapons of mass destruction.
Mr Reed announced he was stepping down on his website and will explain his reasons today.
But in earlier notes on his position posted on the site, Mr Reed said: "I have never been prepared to support war without a clear, second UN resolution ... Without a clear mandate I fear the consequences for international peace and security are too dire to contemplate."
His decision to quit, and mounting speculation that more senior members of the British government could resign over Iraq, aggravated the wound Mr Blair suffered last month when 122 Labour MPs voted against possible military action.
It also opened up the prospect of an even larger backbench rebellion against the policy if there is another substantive vote on Iraq in the Commons, as none of the "payroll" vote rebelled last time out.
Former armed forces minister Doug Henderson warned that "upwards of 150" Labour MPs could rebel if a second resolution was not secured.
After weeks of speculation about her position on the Iraqi crisis, Ms Short last night said it was now "10 minutes to midnight" and time to make her intentions clear.
Interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour, Ms Short suggesteMr Blair's hardline position over Saddam Hussein was "reckless."
Asked by presenter Andrew Rawnsley if she would consider resigning if there was no mandate from the UN for war, Ms Short said: "Absolutely, there's no question about that."
Meanwhile, in Washington yesterday, Mr Powell said he believed there was a "strong chance" of securing the nine votes on the UN Security Council needed to ensure that a US/British/Spanish plan to impose a March 17 disarmament deadline on Baghdad cleared its first hurdle.
But Mr Powell conceded that he would "not be surprised" if France then vetoed the amended draft resolution which could be put to a vote in New York as early as tomorrow.
Bush administration officials have not ruled out the possibility that hostilities could commence this week if the resolution fails.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will outline the case for the March 17 deadline in a statement to MPs this afternoon. Mr Powell acknowledged that France, another of the council's five veto-wielding permanent members, might block the amended draft resolution.
"I would not be surprised if they vetoed. We'll wait and see what they actually do," said Mr Powell, who went on to warn Paris that such a move would have "a serious effect on bilateral relations" between the countries.
