IAIN DUNCAN SMITH declared his full support for war with Iraq yesterday, telling the Commons that the issue was above party politics and that Britain’s national interest was at stake.

“It is a solemn moment in the life of the nation and our first thoughts and prayers today must be with our troops and their families as they prepare for action,” the Conservative leader said. This followed 12 years, after the last Gulf War, that were too often characterised by indecision by the international community towards Iraq.

Like the Prime Minister, Mr Duncan Smith recognised that there were honest and genuinely held differences in all parties over whether military action was justified and he respected these unreservedly, saying that they reflected divisions of opinion across the country.

Given such differences, the official Opposition could have sought to manoeuvre itself into voting against the Government. The Conservatives had argued that ministers had failed to convince the public of their case, made mistakes and not made preparations for the humanitarian consequences of war, he said. He contrasted his party’s stand with that of the Liberal Democrats, whom he attacked bitterly for inconsistency in opposing the war but supporting British troops.

“One can argue that further military action by our Armed Forces would be illegal, or one can argue that further military action by our Armed Forces should be supported. Yet this, we gather, is the Liberal Democrats’ view. They must learn that they cannot have it both ways,” Mr Duncan Smith said.

Explaining his party’s support for the Government, he said that the Conservatives did not agree with every detail of Mr Blair’s handling of the crisis but because Saddam Hussein was a tyrant who tortured and murdered his own people the right thing was to support military action. Mr Duncan Smith said: “He poses a threat to the safety and security of the Middle East and he is in complete breach of his obligations to the UN as well as to the international community. But the main reason we will be voting (with the Government) is that this is in the British national interest. Saddam Hussein has the means, the mentality and the motive to pose a direct threat to our national security.”

Saddam remained in breach of UN Resolution 1441 and had no intention of relinquishing the weapons he had developed, which posed a clear danger to British citizens: “The reality is that Britain is as much a prime target and our citizens a prime target as anyone else living today in this world.”

Blaming Saddam for the war, Mr Duncan Smith said: “It is his regime and his regime only which has made further military action necessary and he has the power even now to make sure that military action does not take place.”

He made a series of detailed criticisms of the Government, however, for failing to set out its plans for offering humanitarian assistance for the Iraqi people. The Government had not explained what was being done to improve coordination between the Ministry of Defence and Department of International Development; to coordinate Britain’s humanitarian response; replace the oil-for-food programme; or assist Iraqis if Saddam used chemical or biological weapons against them, he said.

Elfyn Llwyd (PC, Meirionnydd Nant Conwy) asked him why he was “so keen to press ahead with war” if preparations for humanitarian relief were so poor. Mr Duncan Smith said that Britain and America must go ahead regardless and attacked Clare Short, the International Development Secretary, who threatened to resign last week, saying that her recent detachment and indecision had done Iraqis a disservice.

The Tory leader admitted that there was widespread anxiety among Muslims throughout the world over the prospect of war, but he was challenged by Gordon Prentice (Lab, Pendle), who asked whether he wanted to see the enforcement of UN resolutions on Kashmir. Mr Duncan Smith replied that the resolutions applying to Iraq were particular and peculiar and said the majority of Saddam’s victims were Muslims. He welcomed the commitment by President Bush to publish soon the road map for the Middle East peace process and said it was now imperative that all committed to it demonstrated this during the months ahead.

Concluding, he said that there was no backing down from confrontation with Iraq: “In turning back, we would widen splits within Nato, stir up isolationism in the United States, and abandon our allies in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Australia and Eastern Europe. Above all, we would strip the UN of its authority, betray our own national interest and send out an unmistakeable signal both to Saddam Hussein, and to every rogue state and terrorist group in the world, that we lack the will to enforce just demands on tyrannical regimes.”

He added: “If we vote to give Saddam yet another last chance now, the moment will pass, our concentration will falter, our energy and focus will disperse and our nerve will fail, with disastrous consequences for us all.”

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