As chief weapons inspector Hans Blix prepares his latest report to the security council, Iraq has agreed "in principle" to destroy banned missiles.

The head of the weapons inspection team is expected to deliver the final version of his latest report to members of the security council today.

A draft copy, obtained by the BBC, could boost British and American efforts to secure a second United Nations resolution authorising military force.

It says that Iraq "could have made greater efforts to find any remaining proscribed items or provide credible evidence showing the absence of such items".

And it adds that in terms of disarmament the results had been "very limited".

But as Blix prepared to hand over his report, Iraqi authorities indicated they would destroy the country's arsenal of al-Samoud II missiles.

However it was unclear whether Iraq would move to comply with the demand for the destruction process to begin by March 1.

President Bush dismissed such a move as part of a "campaign of deception".

And the British ambassador to the UN, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, said intelligence sources indicated Iraq was still producing biological and chemical weapons such as anthrax.

Tony Blair left for Madrid yesterday for talks with a key ally, Jose Maria Aznar.

But back home the impact of Wednesday's Commons vote on Iraq continued to make waves.

The prime minister was warned that war without a second resolution would see half of all Labour MPs voting against him.

But Number 10's official spokesman said the Cabinet remained "rock solid" in its support for the current government position.

Meanwhile, the Guardian reports that the UK government has secretly paid more than £33 million to arms companies who supplied Saddam Hussein in the 1980s.

Files on the insurance deals have been locked up for 12 years since they were secretly authorised by Margaret Thatcher.

The Mirror today highlights continuing fears over the security of key UK sites.

The paper yesterday hired a helicopter and flew without checks over key buildings such as parliament.