Battle goes on, warns Blair

The battle against terrorism is far from over despite the capture of Kabul, Tony Blair said as he called for a renewed effort for peace in the Middle East and new relationships between the West and Syria and Iran.

The diplomatic struggle has to go on, the Prime Minister said. "The war against terrorism is not just a police action to root out the networks. It needs to be a series of political actions to remove the conditions under which such acts of evil can flourish and be tolerated," he told the Lord Mayor's Banquet in the City of London's Guildhall last night.

Meanwhile, efforts in Downing Street and the Foreign Office today are focused on the urgency of assembling a government in Kabul to fill a potentially lethal power vacuum.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, in New York, is continuing to urge the UN to act quickly to bring about a broad-based interim government in Afghanistan. Home Secretary David Blunkett also stressed the need for large aid deliveries.

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