Blair threatens action against "brutal" Iraq regime

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has threatened military action to topple Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's "brutal" regime.

Mr Blair pledged there would be no precipitive action but delivered a blunt warning to Saddam that he had to allow weapons inspectors back into his country when required.

The Prime Minister's toughest talk yet on Iraq came in a speech at the George Bush Senior Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, after two days of talks with the present president, George W Bush.

Mr Blair said: "We must be prepared to act where terrorism or weapons of mass destruction threaten us.

"The fight against international terrorism is right. We should pursue it vigorously, not just in Afghanistan but elsewhere... Since September 11 the action has been considerable, in many countries, but there should be no let up.

"If necessary the action should be military and again, if necessary and justified, it should involve regime change."

Mr Blair said the international community could not intervene in all cases "but where countries are engaged in the terror or weapons of mass destruction business, we should not shirk from confronting them".

Mr Blair said he hoped that Syria, Iran and North Korea could be persuaded to reform.

But he went on: "As for Iraq, I know some fear precipitive action. They needn't. We will proceed, as we did after September 11, in a calm, measured, sensible but firm way.

"But leaving Iraq to develop weapons of mass destruction in flagrant breach of no less than nine separate United Nations Security Council resolutions, refusing still to allow weapons inspectors back to do their work properly, is not an option."