Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith is set to begin a fact-finding tour of British forces preparing for war in the Gulf.

Duncan Smith and shadow defence secretary Bernard Jenkin will spend the weekend visiting forces stationed in Kuwait.

As more troops arrive in the region as war looks increasingly likely, the Conservative leader will be making what his advisers say is a signal of his support.

"Iain feels that it is ever so important that the service men and women that are about to put their lives on the line have the support of senior politicians," said a spokesman.

He is set to meet the British ambassador, members of Kuwait's government and local journalists to gauge views on the current crisis.

Duncan Smith, a former soldier, will also hear first-hand from the Kuwaiti missing persons committee which is campaigning for Iraq to return the thousands of people taken prisoner in 1991.

He is scheduled to meet members of the army, air force and the Royal Navy who are spearheading the British military presence. The Tory leader wants to settle media claims about equipment levels.

"He's concerned with the speculation in the media about weapons and supplies and he wants to see the situation from himself," said Central Office.

His visit came as Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy claimed his party was speaking for the British people on the Iraq issue.

Rejecting allegations by opponents of opportunism, Kennedy said the party's anti-war stance has "made the Liberal Democrats appear more relevant than ever in national politics".

Kennedy denied claims that he was either an appeaser or a pacifist. "We Liberal Democrats have been speaking up for the majority of the British people - with the other parties in a minority against us," he said on Friday."We have asked the questions which needed to be asked - the questions which the so-called official opposition failed to ask."