Straw: Iraq war was essential

Jack Straw today insisted the war to topple Saddam Hussein was "justified and essential", despite the failure to find a single banned weapon in Iraq.

But in a striking change of tone, the Foreign Secretary conceded that Iraq might not have posed a danger from weapons of mass destruction at the time.

Instead, he argued that the UN would have lost interest in dealing with Saddam had Britain and America allowed more time for investigations into Iraq's military plans.

His change of tack followed an interim report to the US Congress last night by David Kay, the man in charge of the hunt for evidence of Saddam's guilt.

Dr Kay, who heads a team of 1,200 experts backed by CIA intelligence, was forced to admit: "We have not yet found stocks of weapons."

Mr Straw said he was convinced that Saddam would have gone on to develop "more dangerous" weapons if Britain and the US had not ousted his regime.

"I stick by that judgment," he said. "I'm clear the military action is as justified today as it was in March.

"Our judgment then was this: if we allowed more time, we would simply be allowing more time for deception and defiance by the Saddam regime.

"What would then have happened is that gradually the resolve of the international community to deal with this matter would have died down."

Mr Straw said the bulk of the evidence unearthed by the Iraq Survey Group proved Saddam was in breach of UN resolutions.

"As the report says, it is too early to reach conclusions," he said. "But it contains much information which should on any objective judgment lead to the conclusion that the Saddam regime was employed in a widerange of illegal activities in contravention of categorical UN obligations."

The finds included a vial of botulinum - a bio-weapon precursor - discovered at a scientist's home. There was also "a network of clandestine laboratories" which could be used to make weapons in secret.

Dr Kay told congressmen he had discovered " high- level dialogue" between Iraq and North Korea, which showed Saddam had been trying to buy long-range missiles. Iraq was also testing such missiles in breach of UN rules.

Further evidence showed he was "firmly committed" to acquiring nuclear weapons, although he had not succeeded.

The absence of actual weapons sparked furious claims that Britain and America went to war on inaccurate intelligence.

Former foreign secretary Robin Cook, who quit the Cabinet in protest at the Iraq war, said: "We always knew that Saddam had ambitions and military pretensions - but what we now know is that our strategy of containment worked.

"I think it would be better now if both London and Washington were to admit there were no weapons."