Tory MP breaks ranks with 'strutting' jibe

A former Tory cabinet minister accused Tony Blair yesterday of adopting an aggressive stance towards Iraq because of a personal interest in "strutting the world stage".

Peter Ainsworth claimed the Prime Minister's position on Iraq might be determined less by national interest than by his personal ambition.

Mr Ainsworth, Conservative MP for East Surrey, is among the first leading Tories to break ranks with their leader, Iain Duncan Smith, who has given Mr Blair general support.

Mr Ainsworth said people were not convinced that Iraq posed a serious enough threat. Writing in The Spectator, he said: "They wonder why, if Iraq poses such an obvious and immediate threat to stability and security in Europe, the Germans and French are prepared to be so laid-back. They wonder why most of Iraq's neighbours have not signed up to war, when they did in 1991.

"They wonder what has changed recently to make an attack inevitable. They wonder, why now? And they wonder whether Mr Blair's stance is determined less by the national interest than by personal interest in strutting the world stage."

The Green Party will debate an emergency motion today calling on the Government not to launch military strike against Iraq. Delegates at the annual conference believe any such action would lead to "a humanitarian and environmental disaster''.