Blair spells out tests for Saddam

Tony Blair today spelled out Britain's final demands for Saddam Hussein to give up his weapons of mass destruction or face military action.

The Government has drawn up a list of six "benchmarks" against which Iraqi compliance with United Nations demands to disarm can be judged.

They include a demand for Saddam to make a public declaration on Iraqi television that he has been hiding banned weapons materials but has now made a "strategic decision" to give them up.

It must be followed by the destruction "forthwith" of Iraq's remaining stocks of anthrax and other biological and chemical materials.

Britain is also calling for 30 key Iraq scientists to travel to Cyprus to be interviewed by the UN weapons inspectors and the destruction of any Iraqi unmanned aerial drones which could be used to launch chemical or biological weapons.

The proposals are intended to try to win round "waverers" on the UN Security Council in an attempt to secure the nine votes needed for a new resolution.

In the Commons, Mr Blair confirmed that Britain and the US intended to put their draft resolution to a vote in the Security Council by the end of the week.

He said that it was now essential to send "the strongest possible signal out to Saddam Hussein that he has now to disarm or face the consequences".

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