Saddam Hussein should be tried by the Iraqi people, the prime minister has said.

Tony Blair told the Commons on Monday that the former Iraqi dictator should face justice in an Iraqi court.

The prime minister said the issue was for the new Iraqi government and the Iraqi people.

"I am quite sure that the Iraqi people are quite capable of that," he told the Commons.

He also confirmed that Saddam would be treated "with all the rights of a prisoner of war".

Blair also paid tribute to the special forces and Iraqis who had captured the dictator.

Earlier, Jack Straw had said no decision has yet been made on the form of trial that Saddam Hussein will face.

The foreign secretary told journalists on Monday that he believed Saddam would face a criminal trial in Iraq.

"Decisions about that have yet to be taken but it is very likely that the Iraqis will express a strong preference that any trial will take place in Iraq," he said.

Straw was neutral on whether Saddam would face the death penalty, saying Britain was against the capital punishment but other countries were not.

"In the end the appropriateness of the punishment is a matter for sovereign government and then their courts," he added.

Number 10 also said that Saddam should be tried by his own people.

Amid some confusion about the government's position, Number 10 said it would back an Iraqi based trial for the country's former leader.

While London said it would abide by Iraqi rules, the government has expressed its fears about the use of the death penalty.

Speaking earlier, Britain's envoy to Iraq had suggested the UK would have no part of any trial which could lead to the execution of the former dictator.

But later Downing Street pulled back from Sir Jeremy Greenstock's position, suggesting it could cooperate despite the threat.

It said any trial had to be "consistent with the necessary judicial processes being in place".