Iraq is in 'material breach' of resolution, says Straw

Britain declared Iraq to be in "material breach" of UN disarmament resolutions for the first time yesterday, bringing the prospect of war even closer, as Tony Blair sought to forestall a Labour Party rebellion over his hawkish stance on Iraq.

The Prime Minister began a frantic round of diplomacy before his meeting with President George Bush at Camp David on Friday. His left-wing critics warned him at a private meeting of Labour's ruling national executive committee that he was making "the biggest mistake" of his political career by preparing for war.

Aligning Britain's position closely to that of America, Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, told a news conference Iraq was in "material breach" of the UN resolution that ordered Iraq unconditionally to comply with UN disarmament demands in November.

"It's now clear what exactly Saddam has been working so hard to conceal," he said. "The world can now see the pattern of non co-operation, with which he aims to hide his weapons, his poisons, his diseases."

But war was not inevitable, Mr Straw said. "We want to see this matter resolved by peaceful means. But the responsibility to avoid conflict rests with Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime."

President Vladimir Putin of Russia – Iraq's key ally on the UN Security Council – warned that the Kremlin might adopt a more hawkish position if the Iraqis resisted the UN inspectors' attempts to account for Iraq's banned weaponry.

In a sign that the Iraqi regime is beginning to crack, Tariq Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister, promised that the Iraqis would in future be "more forthcoming" after Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector, told the Security Council on Monday that Iraq was not fully co-operating.

A senior Western diplomat who knows the Iraqi leadership well said: "Aziz seemed nervous. His message seemed to be directed as much towards his own side as to the rest of the world. The Straw statement is such that it must put fear down their spine."

The Prime Minister warned it was only a matter of time before terrorist groups obtained weapons of mass destruction. He said that, despite the deep reservations expressed by France and Germany, there were EU countries that shared Britain's view on Iraq.

The meeting blocked a motion saying that war in Iraq was "not justified" and calling for a "diplomatic and political solution". It approved by 22 votes to 4 a policy statement backing military action "in the last resort" and the Prime Minister's "preference" for a fresh UN resolution.

As he prepared for the Camp David summit, Mr Blair had telephone conversations with the leaders of France, Canada, Australia, Turkey and Greece. He is due to meet the Spanish and Italian Prime Ministers later this week: both support military action if Iraq continues to defy the UN inspectors.

Mr Straw issued 10 questions to Baghdad prompted by the report. Diplomats said the questions could form the basis of a "final" demand to President Saddam to comply.

Mr Blix is due to report again on 14 February.