Jack Straw has warned European leaders against opting out of the war against terror.

Ahead of the prime minister's visit to Spain and Libya, the foreign secretary called on governments to stand firm against the terror threat.

The comments, seen as a coded warning to Spain's new government, come as Tony Blair prepares to meet with the country's new prime minister-elect today.

Jose Luis Zapatero has already signalled that he intends to pull his troops out of Iraq.

Following talks in Spain and Portugal, Blair is expected to head to Libya where he will meet Colonel Gaddafi.

Meanwhile the US has been accused of a "catalogue" of failures in response to the threat of terrorism prior to September 11.

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks has criticised both the Bush and Clinton administrations.

It says the Bush White House was too slow to wake up to the threat posed by al Qaeda.

According to the report, the Clinton administration was also aware of suspicions about Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a deputy to Bin Laden who went on to mastermind the September 11 attacks.