Iraq could target London

The US last night stepped up the war of words against Saddam Hussein, saying that Iraq's secret stocks of chemical and biological weapons, combined with a growing missile capability, made him far more than a mere local threat in the Middle East.

William Cohen, the Defense Secretary, told a meeting of his Nato colleagues in Brussels that President Saddam was working on an enhanced missile with a range of 3,000 miles, bringing targets like London or Paris well within range.

He possessed not the "few drops" of the lethal VX toxin claimed by Baghdad, but almost four tonnes - as well as between 2,000 and 6,000 gallons of anthrax bacteria, which he was well on the way to "weaponizing".

Mr Cohen's presentation, complete with charts and photographs, was designed to steel Nato for a further showdown in a crisis which Washington believes is far from resolved. Unflinching allied support was essential for the UN arms inspectors if they were to do their job properly, US officials said, claiming that one of the 60-odd "presidential palaces" declared off-limits by President Saddam had an area as large as Washington DC.