Blair: hit by rebellion

Labour MPs were tonight in open revolt over Tony Blair's stance on Iraq.

Around 130 Labour MPs defied the government on a three-line whip to signal that they were not persuaded of the case for military action.

A rebel amendment was supported by 199 MPs - with Labour backbenchers joining forces with Liberal Democrats and the nationalists to deliver a stark warning to the government.

The government's main motion was later carried by 434 votes to 124.

Battling against his own backbenches, Jack Straw urged MPs to support the government's efforts to end years of prevarication in disarming Saddam Hussein.

Denying that the government had made the decision to go to war, the foreign secretary said: "Our policy is the full support and implementation of resolution 1441."

"There is a logic which follows from this which cannot be avoided. It is a logic for everybody in the international community. We are now close to the crunch point," he said.

"Saddam must either embark immediately on voluntary and full disarmament or the security council has to face up to its responsibility to see that he is disarmed by force."

The clash between pro-war ministers and hostile backbenchers sparked one the biggest rebellions of the prime minister's premiership.

Straw conceded that there was a perception that the West is guilty of "double standards" by pursuing Saddam when other nations are also flouting the will of the UN.

"I accept that there has been a considerable amount to this charge," he said.

"But we deal with this charge not by ignoring outstanding United Nations obligations but by working even harder to see all of them implemented."

The Tory frontbench backed the government - although senior Conservative MPs Douglas Hogg and Kenneth Clarke led a small backbench rebellion.

Shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram had earlier told MPs that the time had come to send a "clear and unambiguous" message to Saddam Hussein.

"I believe that Iraq does pose a threat to international peace and security and therefore to us, which is why we support the government today," added Ancram.

"The UN itself believes that Iraq poses a continuing threat to international peace and security."

During the six-hour debate a large number of Labour MPs warned ministers that they had not been persuaded of the need for conflict.

Former culture secretary Chris Smith said that UN inspectors had only been doing their work for 11 weeks and needed more time to prove their effectiveness.

He warned that war would lead to "very substantial havoc and destruction" in Iraq.

"Strength does not lie simply in military might, strength lies in having an unanswerable case. It lies in making the right moral choices, it lies in maintaining the pressure, and it lies in securing the fullest possible international agreement," said the MP for Islington South and Finsbury.

"That is where our efforts should now be being directed and I fear that we may be cutting short those efforts by the timetable that is now upon us."

Smith's call for a delay was backed by former Conservative chancellor Kenneth Clarke.

He warned that a war could lead to more support for terrorist groups and undermine the stability of countries such as Saudi Arabia.

"The next time a large bomb goes off in a Western city, how far did this policy contribute to it? The next time some Arab or Muslim state is toppled and replaced by extremists, how far did this policy contribute to it? That is why this House should pause," he said.

Former health secretary Frank Dobson said he did not doubt "the sincerity and the morality" of the prime minister.

But he added: "I am simply not convinced that all out military action in Iraq can be justified at this time and on the scale envisaged."

Former minister Peter Kilfoyle said the government had continued to "move the goalposts" and demanded a full Commons vote before any military action begins.

"If it is good enough for the US president to have to go to congress under the War Powers Act, it is surely good enough for this House to pass its opinion on what's going on," he said.

Fellow Labour MP Roger Godsiff said he could not support his government in backing a war which would result in Saddam becoming "a martyr of the Muslim world".

Mohammed Sarwar, one of the few Muslim MPs in the House of Commons, questioned George W Bush's motives.

"Saddam Hussein is a monster today as he was 20 years ago. The only difference is that he was our monster then," said Sarwar.

But senior Labour MP George Foulkes said MPs should back the government's line - even if it meant dismissing the wishes of their constituents.

"Supporting the government today doesn't mean you are in favour of war," he said.

"War can be avoided by one simple act - Saddam Hussein complying with the UN resolutions."

Ann Clwyd told the House that Saddam Hussein was killing and torturing his own people and must be removed.

"When I hear people calling for more time, I say who is going to speak up for those victims? I believe in regime change, and I say that without any hesitation at all, and I will support the government tonight because I think it's doing a brave thing," she said.

Liberal Democrat spokesman Michael Moore called for an "absolutely clear message" on disarming Saddam, but warned against military action at this stage.

"Many fear that there is an unstoppable momentum towards war," he said. "We must have a credible threat of force but not a certain force."

The SNP's Westminster leader, Alex Salmond, said the prime minister was now locked into a US-led march to war.

"There is no doubt that that the prime minister is no longer in control of events. They are not controlling him," said Salmond.

The general council of the TUC also entered into the debate on Wednesday.

The council said it was "unambiguously opposed" to any military action being contemplated by the US or any other country without full UN backing.