British Defence Secretary Mr Geoff Hoon said today the latest television appearance by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was not a live broadcast and offered no proof he was still alive.
Mr Hoon also signalled some of the problems in the campaign meant supply routes could be stretched.
"We have seen . . . a significant push northwards . . . [but] we should not underestimate the huge logistical effort required to support this," he told a news conference.
On Saddam's latest broadcast, Mr Hoon said: "Obviously analysis continues. But what I can say straight away is that those pictures were not live.
"We are well aware that he spent many hours recently tape-recording various messages. We have to do a little more analysis of what he was actually saying to see whether or not that in fact was Saddam Hussein".
Mr Hoon said there were no unambiguously contemporary events mentioned in the broadcast. "Had he have wanted to indicate that this was live or recent, there were many events that he could have referred to which he clearly did not".
Mr Hoon added: "I do not think it makes a great difference to our military campaign whether he is alive or dead".