Prime Minister Tony Blair has said successive UN resolutions to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction in the past have failed, but Resolution 1441 gives Saddam Hussein ‘one last chance’ to disarm.
Mr Blair made his comments following talks with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.
Mr Blair said when Inspectors left Iraq in 1998 that there were still chemical and biological weapons remaining in the country. He added:
"…the reason why the United Nations has taken this position, not just over the past few months but over many years, is because of the threat these weapons pose in the hands of Saddam Hussein who has used these weapons not merely against other countries, but also against his own people."
Asked by a journalist on the timing of any military action against Iraq, Mr Blair replied that this depended on the ‘justice of the case’ and whether inspections work.
But the Prime Minister said that Saddam Hussein has to ‘fully co-operate’ with insepctors - this meant allowing witnesses to be interviewed ‘free of intimidation’ and answering questions about weapons left over from 1998.
The Prime Minister said UN weapons inspectors must be supported in the current disarmament process, but added:
"…if it cannot happen through the United Nations Weapons Inspectors and obedience to the UN Resolution, then it must happen by other means."
Highlighting the links between terrorist groups and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Mr Blair said ‘it was only a matter of time before these threats come together in a devastating way’.
Mr Blair said ‘no one wants conflict’ but ‘we also have a duty to protect our people in a world that is threatened not just by international terrorism, but also by the issue of mass destruction and their proliferation.’
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