Baroness Symons

Peers have challenged Tony Blair's case against Saddam Hussein.

Opening the debate in the House of Lords, Foreign Office minister Baroness Symons said there was a benefit in removing the Iraqi leader that outweighed arguments against war.

"Removing Saddam Hussein has large benefits to the region and to the rest of the world," she said.

"Complying with 1441 is what the UN is trying to achieve, is what the world wants and what this House wants to see."

Conservative foreign affairs spokesman Lord Howell said his party would support the government's position but criticised part of its presentation.

Tony Blair had taken an unpopular position for which he deserved credit, the peer argued.

"At least the prime minister has not tried to ride the tiger of populism which is a very dangerous position," he said.

The key weakness in the government's case was over the humanitarian efforts and the aftermath of regime change.

"We do need to know more about the government's proposals for the millions of starving refugees," he said.

For the Liberal Democrats, Baroness Shirley Williams challenged the government's moral justification

She was not convinced that the policy of containment had failed - a view she said was once held by Tony Blair.

Afghanistan had now been forgotten and Williams claimed the current action against Iraq was driven by Christian and Jewish fundamentalism.

She said North Korea presented a far greater threat and dismissed assertions that Iraq had links with al Qaeda.

"Repeating a misconception over and over again doesn't make it a truth," she said.

Williams singled out the prime minister for praise saying he had "ripped himself to pieces in trying to hold the US to the UN process".

"But it is not the prime minister who is in the driving seat. It is scepticism about who is in the driving seat which is causing concern," she added.