Global Policy Forum

Giving the keynote speech at the ruling Labour Party's annual conference in the southern English seaside resort of Brighton on Tuesday, Blair tackled critics of his stand on Iraq.

Blair's speech had barely begun before he was interrupted by anti-war protesters, shouting: "You've got blood on your hands." The prime minister replied: "That's fine, sir. You can make your protest. Just thank goodness we live in a democracy and you can."

Blair went on to say the "evidence about Saddam having actual biological and chemical weapons, as opposed to the capability to develop them, has turned out to be wrong. "I acknowledge that and accept it," he said. "I simply point out, such evidence was agreed by the whole international community, not least because Saddam had used such weapons against his own people and neighbouring countries. "And the problem is I can apologize for the information that turned out to be wrong, but I can't, sincerely at least, apologise for removing Saddam. "The world is a better place with Saddam in prison not in power."

CNN's European Political Editor Robin Oakley said the comments marked the furthest that Blair has gone in admitting the intelligence on Iraq's WMD was wrong. But the prime minister emphasized that the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States changed the world. The priority for governments now, he added, was to confront terrorists and stop them getting hold of WMDs because they would not hesitate to use them.

Oakley added that the 51-year-old premier, in making his case for a third historic term in office for Labour, concentrated more on domestic policies than international issues. Blair did however tell delegates that after the U.S. presidential elections he would make it a priority to restart the Middle East peace process. "After November, I will make its revival a personal priority. Two states -- Israel and Palestine -- living side-by-side in an enduring peace would do more to defeat this terrorism than bullets alone can ever do," he said. And when Britain took over the rotating leadership of the G-8 group of leading industrialized countries Blair said he would publish a new plan for Africa, focusing on alleviating poverty and disease.

'Time to go'

Continuing violence in Iraq and the kidnapping of British contractor Ken Bigley has overshadowed this week's meeting -- likely to be the last such gathering before a general election expected next spring. "I want to express our condolences to the latest British casualties in Iraq," Blair said, referring to the deaths of two soldiers in Basra on Tuesday. "And I want to, on behalf of all of us, express our support and solidarity with Ken Bigley and all the Bigley family. "They are in our thoughts and prayers."

Blair also faced a challenge from thousands of fox-hunting supporters who descended on Brighton to protest over government attempts to ban the sport. A dead horse and two dead calves were dumped near Labour's conference venue in Brighton on Tuesday as campaigners held a rally in the town. According to opinion polls, two-thirds of Britons no longer trust the PM. One weekend poll even put his Labour Party in third place behind the opposition Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Even some Labour lawmakers say Blair should be replaced as the party's leader. "We would be very much better off after his time in office if Tony Blair were to step down," said Labour MP Bob Marshall-Andrews. "He's done enough, probably too much, and the time has come to go."

Labour delegates have insisted on a debate and vote on Iraq on Thursday -- the last thing the leadership wanted, Oakley said. One motion supports efforts to rebuild the country but says future military action "must only take place when all diplomatic efforts have failed and must be in accordance with international law and within the U.N. framework." A second motion calls on Blair to set an early date for the withdrawal of British forces from Iraq and says the "continuing occupation of Iraq is unjustifiably destructive of both lives and resources." The votes would be nonbinding but could prove embarrassing to Blair. At the very least, say his opponents, the prime minister must change his policies. "We have lost the trust of the people on Iraq," said Marshall-Andrews.