PM must quit if weapons aren't found, says Healey

Lord Healey, the former chancellor and deputy leader of the Labour Party, calls on Tony Blair today to resign if weapons of mass destruction are not found in Iraq.

Writing in The Independent, Lord Healey also seeks a full judicial inquiry into allegations that Downing Street forced the intelligence agencies to exaggerate Iraq's readiness to launch a chemical, biological or nuclear attack.

Lord Healey's remarks are backed by Michael Foot, a former Labour leader, who said that he had forced the Thatcher government to hold the Franks inquiry into the Falklands war in the 1980s. Mr Foot was also critical of an attack on "rogue elements" in the security services by John Reid, the Leader of the House.

In his article, Lord Healey even suggests that the United States might plant "their own weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq to justify the war.

He says that Gordon Brown would be the best replacement for Mr Blair because, unlike the Prime Minister, the Chancellor is not worried about his "place in history".