The Prime Minister is expected to fly to Washington towards the end of this month to underscore his message that the UN should be given “time and space” to deal with President Saddam Hussein.

He also hopes to speak with Dr Blix, possibly at Downing Street, before the weapons inspector delivers his assessment of Iraq’s compliance with UN disarmament demands on January 27.

As America’s military build up in the Gulf continues and the Ark Royal sails for the region, Mr Blair will this evening have dinner with Gerhard Schröder, the German Chancellor, who has been a prominent opponent of war.

The talks were arranged some time ago, but British sources acknowledged that now Germany was taking a UN Security Council place Iraq would be discussed, because “we want to create as much consensus as possible”.

The diplomatic drive follows a week in which Mr Blair has sought to assuage concerns about an imminent war. After Dr Blix’s interim report that his inspectors had so far found “no smoking gun” in Iraq, the Prime Minister told the Cabinet that the assessment on January 27 should be regarded only as a “staging post” rather than as a deadline.

Mr Blair plans to visit Washington soon after Dr Blix reports to the Security Council and Mr Bush's State of the Union address the following day.

Officials in Washington and London said it was too early to characterise the meeting. Mr Blair may try to persuade Mr Bush that military action should be delayed until a further report from Dr Blix in February or even March. But they may yet hold a council of war, depending on how Saddam responds to Dr Blix’s demands for more answers in the coming three weeks.

The Bush Administration still believes it can build a case for war between now and mid-February, by which time more than 200,000 US troops are expected to be in the Gulf.

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