The British government will ask parliament tomorrow to back British participation in a military attack on Iraq if using force becomes necessary, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said tonight.
Britain had "reluctantly concluded" that a fresh United Nations resolution on Iraq would not be possible, Mr Straw said.
He also revealed the British government would seek parliamentary support for a new UN resolution ensuring post-war aid for Iraq in the event of conflict.
Calling on deputies to back the government's proposal to use "all means necessary" to disarm Iraq, Mr Straw said giving more time to UN inspectors "can only bring comfort to tyrants and emasculate the authority of the United Nations."
Mr Straw said he "deeply regrets" that France "has put Security Council consensus beyond reach" by threatening to veto any further resolution which would pave the way to war.
On post-war aid to Iraq, Mr Straw said that the government was proposing that in the event of conflict, Britain "should seek a new Security Council resolution that would affirm Iraq's territorial integrity, ensure rapid delivery of humanitarian relief, allow for the earliest possible lifting of UN sanctions, an international reconstruction programme, and the use of oil revenues for benefit of the Iraqi people".
The motion to be put before British deputies "also endorses an appropriate post-conflict administration for Iraq" and "endorses the Middle East peace process as encapsulated in the imminent publication of the road map."
AFP