Blair faces wave of anti-war motions at party conference

Tony Blair came under fresh pressure to oppose a war in Iraq yesterday as Labour activists tabled a flood of hostile motions for the party's annual conference later this month.

Ministers fear Saddam Hussein's offer to allow United Nations weapons inspectors to return will hinder the Prime Minister's efforts to convince party members that military action is needed.

Mr Blair called on the international community to "keep up the pressure" on the Iraqi leader. He said: "Nobody should be in any doubt. This is not because Saddam wants to let the inspectors back in. He has played around for years. We have got to keep up the pressure to make sure the weapons inspectors actually go in – not just that he says they can go in but they actually go in and that they can do their job."

Several constituency parties have tabled an identical motion expressing "alarm" at calls for a "pre-emptive strike" against Iraq. It warns that a war on Iraq would greatly aggravate the Middle East crisis and calls for a diplomatic and political solution within the framework of international law.

Labour refused to disclose the number of motions sent in by constituency parties but party sources confirmed that many such "topical motions" had been tabled. Labour leaders will allow a debate in an effort to disprove allegations of "control freakery".

The party's national executive committee will try to quell the revolt by submitting a policy statement on Iraq to the conference, which is expected to stress the vital role of the United Nations. One Labour source said its message would be: "Trust me, I'm Tony."

The former Tory prime minister John Major said Parliament should have been recalled before next Tuesday. "We should be asking why Parliament didn't come back some time ago. You shouldn't treat it like a knackered old warhorse unable to raise a snort."