Britain thinks Saddam will be executed

Britain accepts that Saddam Hussein is likely to be executed by the Iraqi government for war crimes, senior Government sources have revealed.

The former dictator is facing what one senior Iraqi called "the trial of the century" after he was transferred from American to Baghdad legal custody today. He will remain in the physical custody of US forces.

He is due to appear in court tomorrow along with 11 of his henchmen including former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz and Ali Hassan Al Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali".

Iraq's interim government is reinstating the death penalty but will offer an amnesty to Iraqis who "do not have their countrymen's blood on their hands", President Ghazi al-Yawar was quoted as saying.

Senior Government figures said that although Tony Blair was personally opposed to capital punishment, there was little Britain could do to stop Iraqis meting out their own justice. The senior Government-source said execution sometimes risked creating martyrs but pointed out that the murder of Romanian dictator Nikolai Ceaucescu had shown otherwise. "Sometimes, people want closure, just like they did in Romania," he said.

The building earmarked for the court appearance is the Baghdad Clocktower which was once a museum dedicated to Saddam's honour.

The Iraqi government's new national security adviser Muwafak Al-Rubaiee said Saddam would have a fair trial and it would be televised live.

However, security fears could mean a judge will be taken to Saddam's cell to avoid the risk of revealing the whereabouts of his top-secret jail.

Meanwhile, all 110 Church of England bishops have signed a letter to Mr Blair over Iraqi prisoner abuse which, they said, had "deeply damaged" the West. And No10's hopes of moving on from the war sank today with reports that the Butler report into the use of intelligence will be published early, on 14 July - the eve of two crucial by-elections.