Jack Straw has kicked off a visit to the Middle East in a bid to win support for the UK's attempt to win backing for military action against Iraq.

The whistlestop tour will see the foreign secretary visiting Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Iran.

He is heading to the region with the message that the world must achieve Iraqi disarmament.

Straw has dismissed claims that the UK was at odds with the US administration after it was revealed that British law officers have warned the government against backing regime change in Iraq.

Speaking ahead of his lightning tour, Straw said: "Both the prime minister and I, as have leaders of the American administration, made clear that we would wish to see the back of the Saddam Hussein regime.

"So too would everybody in the region and above all that the Iraqi people. But one of the objectives of the current efforts to develop an international coalition is disarmament, disarmament of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction."

The latest diplomatic offensive comes ahead of a visit by Tony Blair by Russia later this week.

President Putin has let it be known that he is implacably opposed to any conflict seeking to bring about regime change in Baghdad.

The prime minister's tough stance has been hit by claims that any action against Iraq without UN approval would be illegal and open to challenge through the International Court of Justice.

The attorney-general, Lord Goldsmith, has warned Downing Street that military action against Iraq to force a regime change would breach international law.

Insiders say the legal advice is behind the government's reluctance to back Washington's pro-regime change stance.

Instead, the UK government insists that conflict may be necessary to strip Saddam Hussein of his weapons of mass destruction.