Pressure is growing on the prime minister following revelations that he knew Iraq had no real weapons of mass destruction weeks before Britain went to war in Iraq.

The revelations are contained in Robin Cook's diary - serialised in the Times newspaper.

"Tony did not try to argue me out of the view that Saddam did not have real weapons of mass destruction that were designed for strategic use against city populations," the former foreign secretary alleges.

The revelation has led to renewed calls for a full public inquiry into the decision to launch military action.

Cook, who is once again under fire from his former colleagues, also claims that the Cabinet was in a near mutinous state prior to the war.