London braced for Bush visit

George Bush today headed for Britain - and a withering attack on America's failure to nail its prime target, Saddam Hussein.

The criticism from politicians across the party divide, peace groups and military experts signalled a rough start for a visit already marked by controversy.

The condemnation also covered the failure to discover Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and the continued survival of another key foe, Osama bin Laden.

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said: "The failure-to capture Saddam Hussein is but one of a number of serious problems facing George Bush and Tony Blair in Iraq."

He pointed out that in recent weeks the security situation in Iraq had worsened "dramatically", with a big increase in attacks on allied troops, and organisations such as the Red Cross compelled to scale down aid efforts.

"Capturing Saddam would be a very important development," Mr Kennedy said. "But the problems in Iraq go much further than that."

On the Labour side, former defence minister Peter Kilfoyle said the survival of the dictator was a "key issue for the Americans".

He went on: "They demonised him. They made him a target. It's bizarre they have not managed to locate him but it speaks volumes for the qualities of their intelligence."

Air Marshal Sir Timothy Garden, of the Institute of Strategic Studies, said it was "totally unacceptable" that Saddam was at large, adding: "It is down to incompetence."

Major Charles Heyman, senior defence analyst for Jane's Information Group, said: "There is a very simple reason why Saddam Hussein has not been found - the plan to hide him was drawn up over a number of years.

"We knew before the war that the Ba'ath Party was planning a counter-insurgency operation. The Iraqi foreign minister warned of a counter-attack that 'would make Vietnam look like a picnic'. What effect the failure to find Saddam has on our soldiers I can't say, but with every day that he is not found, the enemy gains strength."

Major-General Peter Martin, retired colonel of the Cheshire Regiment, said: "The coalition needs good intelligence, and to get good intelligence they need to have the goodwill of the people. The British Army is the world leader on matters of internal security, and I do wonder sometimes to what extent the Americans are looking to us for advice."

John Pike, a leading US independent defence analyst and director of military information website globalsecurity.org, said: "We haven't found Saddam Hussein for the same reason that we haven't found Osama bin Laden or Mullah Omar which is, quite simply, that they have been effectively hidden."

Clare Short, who quit the Cabinet in the wake of the war, calls on Mr Bush in an open message in The Guardian to "take a deep breath and admit your 'war on terror' isn't working".

Another former minister, Glenda Jackson, demanded: "Why is George Bush being given a triumphal ride down Whitehall when Saddam is still roaming free?"

The US is offering a £16million reward for information leading to the capture or death of Saddam.

The senior American figure in Iraq, Paul Bremer, yesterday dismissed him as a "voice in the wilderness" followed by only a small band of murderers. But he acknowledged: "We need to capture or kill him."

MP George Galloway, expelled from the Labour Party for his outspoken opposition to the war, said: "The failure to find Saddam Hussein underlines the futility of the American strategy of war. It makes them look incompetent as well as malevolent. But even if they get lucky, that won't solve their problem."

Ghada Razuki of the Stop the War Coalition said: "He [Bush] is adding insult to injury by coming to our country and he's going to find out that he's not welcome. This is the man in charge of the administration that's killed 8,000 Afghanis and 10,000 Iraqis."