Duncan Smith warns of low troop morale

Public opposition to a war in Iraq is affecting British troops in the Gulf, Iain Duncan Smith said yesterday.

On a visit to Kuwait, where he met British forces, the Tory leader said that morale among the 1,000 Royal Marines on the aircraft carrier Ark Royal was reasonably high. But he added: "They did need reassurance. They are a bit fed up with the sense that the British people are not behind them."

Mr Duncan Smith, a former Scots Guards captain, told the servicemen and women that the public was not anti-war. "It is just that they do not understand why we need to do this now. It is a British characteristic to be reluctant to go to war. But when we do, we stick with it. I know the British public will swing behind our troops. They will be in favour once there is a United Nations mandate," he said.

He added: "I don't believe the British people are against action. They just want to make sure that action is literally the last resort, once we've done everything else."

The Tory leader dismissed Iraq's decision to start destroying its al-Samoud 2 missiles. He said: "The only reason that Saddam Hussein is likely to destroy these missiles is because he is under pressure militarily. But there are still tons of chemicals, nerve agents, weapons of mass destruction; he has not told anybody where they are, whether they have been destroyed.

"He now has to show those have been destroyed or destroy them, or he will face the consequences."

Mr Duncan Smith said that he believed the Prime Minister "was doing the right thing" over Iraq and deserved more support. "The ball is very much in Saddam Hussein's court," Mr Duncan Smith said. "He has the ability now to decide whether there should be military action or not. All he has to do to avoid military action is to do what the United Nations tells him to."