Current Events
TONY Blair found himself embroiled in a fresh Iraq crisis last night after it was claimed Foreign Secretary Jack Straw made a desperate last-minute plea for him to call off the war. Just days before the fighting started, Straw begged the Prime Minister not to send British troops into action, according to a new book on the affair. ... Meanwhile, in Britain, Tony Blair was last night facing a deepening crisis following the disclosure of the contents of the letter sent to him by the Foreign Secretary. Straw is said to have written a confidential ‘personal minute’ to Blair saying the UK should offer the Americans "political and moral support" in their campaign against Saddam Hussein, but not military backing. Straw is said to have argued that the United Nations’ refusal to back the invasion would make it damaging for Britain to take part. The Foreign Secretary reportedly urged Blair to tell President George Bush that British troops would help clear up the mess and keep the peace once the war was over, but would play no part in Saddam’s overthrow.
