Minister plays down Nato split

The Government has tried to damp down the bitter row that has erupted in Nato over the Iraq crisis.

The Americans reacted with fury on Monday when France, Germany and Belgium combined to block the deployment of Nato missile batteries to protect Turkey in the event of war.

But in an emergency Commons statement, Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram insisted that the only disagreement in the alliance was over the timing of Nato assistance to the Turks.

"There is no debate regarding the need for the alliance to provide assistance to a Nato member," he told MPs.

Shadow defence secretary Bernard Jenkin angrily accused the French of nursing a "long-held ambition to destroy Nato".

And he attacked Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon, who is on his way to Washington for talks with the US administration, for "scuttling out of the country" so that he could avoid being cross-examined by MPs.

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