The foreign secretary has warned the media against making "snap judgements" on the basis of television pictures coming out of Iraq.

In a speech to journalists, Jack Straw said the media's proximity to frontline combat is "unprecedented in the history of warfare".

"Never before have so many journalists been so close to the action and with the technology to report live," he said.

He said the relationship between government and the media "is never under greater scrutiny than at times of military conflict".

"The live coverage we are seeing raises some important questions: about the dangers of making snap judgements on the basis of television pictures; and about the ability of democracies to wage war against tyrannies who both deny the truth to their people and savagely suppress public dissent," he said.

And he warned against the failure to balance the civilian casualties in the Gulf with the oppressive regime operated by Saddam Hussein.

"There are no TV cameras in Saddam's torture chambers or in the darkest corners of Baghdad," said Straw.

"But the suffering and oppression are real. Until his long reign of terror is ended, Saddam Hussein will remain a scar on the conscience of the world."

Despite criticism of the media's coverage of events in the Gulf, the foreign secretary paid tribute to the journalists serving alongside coalition forces.

"The regional - and the national press - have a crucial role to play in peacetime. But at times of conflict - as we all know from recent experience - their importance is magnified," he said.

"I am also clear that, in a democracy, the benefits of hour by hour and day by day reporting from the frontline far outweigh the disadvantages."