Saddam, the poet who loves muffins

Saddam Hussein spends his days writing poems about George Bush, gardening and eating American muffins and cookies, the first account of his life in jail reveal today.

Seven months after his capture, the former dictator is said to be a demoralised man who passes much of his time in solitary confinement reading the Koran.

He exercises in his small air-conditioned cell and tends to shrubs and bushes outside.

There is regular access to showers and a barber, and after going on a diet in which he lost almost a stone, Saddam is said to be in good health. The insight into his daily routine comes from Iraq's new human rights minister, Bakhtiar Amin, after a visit. Mr Amin, who had family members killed by the former regime, could not bring himself to talk to Saddam but said: "He is being kept in good conditions but appears demoralised and dejected."

Saddam, awaiting trial on charges of war crimes and genocide, is being kept apart from other prisoners, who include aides such as Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as Chemical Ali.