TONY BLAIR gave warning yesterday that the “madness” of anti-Americanism in Europe was increasing the risk that the United States could walk away from world affairs.

Addressing the Australian Parliament, the Prime Minister said that he did not always agree with the Americans and that sometimes they could be “difficult friends”. But he said that the danger today was not that the Americans were too much involved in international affairs. The danger was that they might decide to pull up the drawbridge and disengage.

“We need them involved. We want them engaged,” Mr Blair said. “The reality is that none of the problems that press in on us can be resolved or even contemplated without them.”

He added: “The strain of anti-American feeling in parts of European and world politics is madness when set against the long-term interests of the world we believe in.”

The Prime Minister was warmly received after his speech to the House of Representatives, attended by senators. Despite a hard-hitting passage on Iraq in which he appealed to increasingly sceptical Australians not to waver, and to “tough it out”, Mr Blair emerged without any of the barracking or protests that accompanied President Bush’s speech to the Parliament in 2003.

Earlier, at a session of the UK-Australia Leadership Forum, John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister, who later introduced Mr Blair to the Parliament, also spoke of the threat of American isolationism and protectionism.

In his introductory speech he paid tribute to “the strength of Tony Blair’s conviction to the fight against terrorism”.

Kim Beazley, the leader of the opposition Labor Party, noted that he took a different position from Mr Blair on Iraq, “but that doesn’t diminish our regard for your leadership”.

Terry Hicks, whose son, David, is being held in Guantanamo Bay, listened to Mr Blair in the public gallery, and said that he was not disappointed at Mr Blair’s refusal to meet him. David Hicks is fighting a legal battle for British citizenship that might secure his release. During his speech, the second of three on worldwide security, the Prime Minister repeated his call for a global struggle of ideas and values against the threat of Islamic terrorism, emphasising the importance of international alliances.

He also used the speech to signal a fresh attempt to revive the Middle East peace process after the Israeli elections — an issue that he is expected to tackle in America next month.

The centrepiece of Mr Blair’s speech was a call for a new global alliance representing universal values. The alliance did not end with America but began with her, and it required an active foreign policy of engagement, not isolationism.

“If we want to secure our way of life, there is no alternative but to fight for it. That means standing up for our values, not just in our own country but the world over,” he said.

Mr Blair made plain that he wanted Australia on board. In 1939 when Britain declared war on Nazi Germany, Australia was by her side — “no if, no buts”. “We needed you then, we need you now,” he said.

On Iraq, Mr Blair told the Parliament: “I know the Iraq war split this nation as it did mine, and I have never disrespected those who disagreed with me over it.” But he added: “We must not hesitate in the face of a battle utterly decisive in whether the values we believe in triumph or fail.

“If the going is tough, we tough it out. This is not a time to walk away. This is a time for the courage to see it through.”

Before his speech Mr Blair was welcomed to the Australian capital with a 19-gun salute and he inspected a guard of honour outside the House. Later, accompanied by Mr Howard, he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier and visited an exhibition commemorating the world wars.

Today Mr Blair flies to New Zealand where he will meet Helen Clark, the Prime Minister, and address a climate-change conference in the capital, Wellington. On Thursday he will begin an official visit to Indonesia, the first by a British Prime Minister for 20 years. Mr Blair will meet senior politicians and tour sites that were hit by the tsunami on Boxing Day in 2004.

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