Terror alert as Blix says war was illegal

Tony Blair will today sound a warning over the threat from international terrorism, claiming that the public does not understand the full scale of the danger it faces.

The Prime Minister will use a speech in his Sedgefield constituency to justify his decision to go to war in Iraq, and to serve notice that he will carry on tackling terrorists.

But he faced fresh troubles today as former United Nations chief weapons Hans Blix made his strongest claim yet that the war was illegal.

He said in a newspaper interview that the advice to Tony Blair from Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, that earlier UN resolutions gave legal cover for the invasion, was simply wrong.

And it emerged that Parliamentary Ombudsman Ann Abraham may, after all, be sent a copy of the full advice. She has requested it for an investigation into whether it should be published.

Downing Street said on Tuesday that she was not entitled to see it, but last night Cabinet Secretary Sir Andrew Turnbull said no final decision had been taken. Number 10 later conceded that "the position could change".

Mr Blair's speech threatened to derail attempts by Labour to turn the political focus back onto domestic issues three months ahead of key mayoral and European elections.