Blair urged to turn sights on Tories

Tony Blair is today warned to stop taking on his own party and turn his sights on the Tories.

The blunt message comes from former foreign secretary and leader of the Commons Robin Cook, who says the Prime Minister "will have to behave rather differently" if he is to end 2004 in better shape than he did last year.

Mr Cook, writing in today's Evening Standard, says Mr Blair "should accept that he has come to the end of the line of proving his strength by taking on Labour". He says that with the Conservatives headed by "a more confident, more ruthless" leader in Michael Howard "Tony Blair will appear a weak leader if he keeps dividing his own party".

The broadside made a bleak welcome for Mr Blair as he flew back from southern Iraq. And, acknowledging the difficulties ahead, Mr Blair ruled out visiting Iraq again for the foreseeable future. He vowed to dedicate himself to domestic issues like schools and hospitals. Flying home after his one-day trip to Basra, where he thanked British troops for their commitment, he made clear he intends to focus on bread and butter concerns.

"There's obviously a whole set of domestic issues I'm going back to and I cannot say when I will be here again," he said.

The bid to refocus the Government to avoid accusations that it has ignored voters' priorities in the past two years will begin soon after the Hutton Inquiry reports next week. Mr Blair appeared pessimistic about the prospects for finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He refused to discuss rumours that the Iraq Survey Group - the US-run inspection team - might be wound down this year.

"The first thing is to wait for the Iraq Survey Group report," he said. "I don't believe that the intelligence we got was wrong. We have got to wait and see what their report turns up."

Mr Blair said the coming months would be vital for the restoration of normality in Iraq and he used the opportunity to thank British soldiers "from the bottom of my heart".