London and Washington braced for UN setback

The British and US push for a fresh United Nations resolution on Iraq was expected to suffer a fresh set-back when the chief inspectors report today.

France, Germany and Russia are expected to seize on Hans Blix’s briefing on weapons of mass destruction as evidence that inspections are working and should be given more time.

That was the message from Mohamed ElBaradei, who is overseeing nuclear inspections, ahead of the pair’s appearance before the UN Security Council.

“In my area, inspection is working. We are making progress. There’s no reason to scuttle the process,” Dr ElBaradei said last night.

Chief weapons inspector Dr Blix was expected to deliver a similar verdict, hampering UK attempts to broker a compromise resolution giving Iraq days to disarm.

Tony Blair badly needs the authority of a new UN mandate to quell opposition inside and outside the Labour Party to a war with Iraq.

However, the British Prime Minister gave his strongest signal yet that he is prepared to ignore France and Russia if they used their vetoes – as permanent members of the Security Council – to block a new resolution.

“If there was a veto applied by one of the countries with a veto, or by countries that I thought were applying the veto unreasonably, in those circumstances we would (go ahead),” he said during a studio debate for the MTV music channel.

His defiant tone was shared by US President George W Bush in a prime time TV address which saw him warn “this is the last phase of diplomacy” in disarming Iraq.

“We have arrived at an important moment in confronting the threat posed to our nation and to peace by Saddam Hussein and his weapons of terror,” Mr Bush said.

Dr Blix must answer a “single question – has the Iraqi regime fully and unconditionally disarmed”, the President said.

“Saddam Hussein is not disarming. This is a fact. It can’t be disputed,” he said.

“I will not leave the American people at the mercy of the Iraqi dictator and his weapons,”

The President added: “Allowing a dangerous dictator to defy the world and harbour weapons of mass destruction is not peace at all. It is pretence.”

Nevertheless, Britain and the US remain anxious to at least gain the nine votes that they would need for a resolution in order to put the maximum pressure on the French and Russians not to use their vetoes.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw last night insisted Britain would “strain every nerve” to avoid war as in a last ditch diplomatic push to win support for a compromise resolution.

Mr Straw, in New York for the inspectors’ reports, said he was confident the changes to the draft tabled by Britain, the US and Spain would be favourably received.

“These are suggestions that we have made but I think they should find reasonably fertile ground,” he said.

“Even at this late stage we want to strain every nerve to avoid military action. We want to see Iraq come into full, active and immediate co-operation.”.

Mr Blair made clear that any extension to the timetable for Saddam to disarm would be strictly limited, warning that the British and US troops massing in the Gulf “can’t wait forever”.

“We have 300,000 troops down there now, sitting on his doorstep. You have got the UN inspectors in. It is unlikely at this very moment in time that Saddam is going to do anything. That is true,” he said.

“We can’t keep those people down there forever, we can’t wait forever. If we don’t act now then we will go back to what has happened before and then of course the whole thing begins again and he carries on developing these weapons.”