War must be chosen only as a last resort, say unions

Leaders of millions of union members in Britain and America urged Tony Blair and George Bush yesterday to build a "firm and broad" consensus through the UN before waging war on Saddam Hussein.

John Monks, TUC general secretary, and his American counterpart, John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, said UN inspectors must be given enough time to do their job.

In a letter to Mr Blair and Mr Bush, they argued that war could increase the danger of terrorist atrocities against Western states by handing fanatical gangs a powerful recruiting tool. They told the two leaders – meeting at Mr Bush's country retreat at Camp David yesterday – that the international coalition against terrorism could be destroyed if they took unilateral action in the face of "strong reservations" from their allies.

The union leaders shared "strong concerns" on Iraq's failure to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction and endorsed moves to put pressure on Iraq to comply with UN demands for disarmament.

But they said: "Today, many citizens of the United States and of the United Kingdom are not convinced that war must be waged now in Iraq. Strong reservations are being voiced by peoples and governments across the world, including those of our closest allies."

They added: "On behalf of our two labour movements, and on behalf of working people in both our countries, we urge you to continue to lead the global fight against totalitarianism and terror through the UN, to ensure this fight is carried out by the broadest possible coalition, with the strongest international legitimacy.

"British and American working people stand ready to bear the burden needed to defend our freedoms. But the goal of our policy now should be to take every possible step to achieve the legitimate ends of disarming Iraq without recourse to war, and to winning the fullest support of our friends and allies before the path of war is chosen as a last resort.

"We do not believe that this first path has come to an end, and urge you to continue to pressure all concerned to find a resolution to this situation that preserves peace and security for our countries and across the world."