Bush policy on Russia contradicted by his own man

President Bush's nominee as ambassador to Japan - former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker Jr - has called for extra funds for a drive Mr Bush wants to cut.

Mr Baker says his policy of helping Russia safeguard its nuclear materials is not meant to be a challenge to the president's spending plans.

Bush's fiscal 2002 budget proposes cutting more than £50 million from the Energy programme, say government sources.

"I don't think there's any issue, really, that's more important than making sure we don't annihilate ourselves through an accident or something," Mr Baker has told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing called by Senator Richard Lugar, a champion of the US effort on Russian weapons.

"The fact that we haven't blown ourselves up so far is no guarantee that we couldn't still do it," he said. "Or that some rogue nation or rogue group hasn't yet successfully stolen a nuclear weapon doesn't mean they can't still do it if all you've got is a padlock" on a door to prevent theft.

A task force Mr Baker co-chaired with former White House Counsel Lloyd Cutler called for spending £21 billion over eight to 10 years to secure or neutralise all of Russia's nuclear weapons-usable material and keep its scientists performing legitimate work.

It would build on current joint US-Russian efforts.