Blair pledges solidarity with America

Tony Blair says Britain will support a fight against international terrorism for "as long as it takes".

Mr Blair was speaking, standing side-by-side with George W Bush, in the White House after talks over dinner with the President.

He said America had stood by Britain during the Second World War and the horrors of the Blitz and the UK would now stand together with the United States.

"I believe we have to go on fighting terrorism as long as it takes because what happened on September 11 was, of course, a brutal and horrific attack on America but it was a demonstration of what these people are capable of in any part of the world.

"There is no limit to what they would do that is moral. They have no regard for the sanctity of human life.

"The only limits on what they do are practical and technical."

Mr Blair added: "I believe right around the world there is a support for some action now. I believe the coalition of support for action is growing.

"My father's generation went through the experience of the Second World War when Britain was under attack through the days of the Blitz and there was one nation and one people that stood side-by-side with us at that time, and that nation was America and that people was the American people, who stand side-by-side with us now."

Earlier in New York, Mr Blair led a service of memorial and hope for the British missing in the World Trade Centre attack.

At a service at St Thomas Church in New York, Mr Blair joined UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and former US President Bill Clinton in prayers for the dead, missing and injured, especially those from Britain.