Outside the White House on Friday, Tony Blair was greeted by a few protesters wearing George W Bush masks. One placard read, “I love my poodle”. It was a cringe-worthy reminder of what many Labour backbenchers think of their leader, his relationship to Bush and his handling of the crisis in the Middle East.

The decision of the United States and Britain to press for a lasting, rather than swift, ceasefire is causing dismay among ministers and MPs. After Bush and Blair called for an international peacekeeping force rather than an immediate ceasefire, one cabinet minister said: “I suppose it is a step forward, but the situation is disastrous. It is too little too late from Bush.

“Everyone understands that Israel has got to respond to Hezbollah rocket attacks, but to go and bomb Lebanon is outrageous. That is the view of the parliamentary Labour party.”

Gordon Brown, the chancellor, who is on paternity leave with his newborn son James, is said to be “fuming” at his colleagues’ failure to heed his warnings about the Middle East.

Last year Brown met Ehud Olmert, then finance minister of Israel, now prime minister, and urged senior government figures to pay attention to him. Brown is angry that Blair and Margaret Beckett, the foreign secretary, are said to have little or no relationship with Olmert.

“Gordon is fuming that no one operating at a senior level is dealing with the Israelis,” said a source close to the chancellor. “He has been warning people for months that this guy (Olmert) was likely to be the next prime minister once Ariel Sharon became ill.”

Some Labour MPs are openly critical of what they see as Blair’s slavishness to Washington. Ken Purchase, Labour MP for Wolverhampton North East, said: “We cannot tie our view of the Middle East to that of America. It’s losing us friends hand over fist.

“The bad news is that Blair actually thinks America is right. A greater part of the Labour party believes him to be wrong.”

Paul Flynn, MP for Newport West, was one of those concerned at Britain giving permission for US planes carrying arms to Israel to land for refuelling at Prestwick airport in Ayrshire.

“We are acting as the in-flight fueller for the bombs that are going (to Israel),” said Flynn. “We can’t seem to be even-handed if we are taking that line. The cost will be paid by the deepening sense of injustice felt by Muslims from Beirut to our local mosque and increase the likelihood of terrorism.”

At cabinet level the doubts have been muted, apart from Jack Straw, the former foreign secretary, who said last week the Israeli action was “disproportionate”.

At the last cabinet meeting before the summer break, even loyal Blairites were not too timid to question the prime minister’s failure to call for a ceasefire.

David Miliband, the environment secretary, asked Blair: “You can understand the Israelis would want to respond, but where is all this going?” John Prescott expressed his concerns also. Other ministers, including Peter Hain, are voicing their worries privately.

As Blair went to Washington, public opposition to his stance was clear. A YouGov survey showed that more than three-fifths of people questioned believe that the response has been disproportionate; nearly two-thirds think Blair is doing whatever Washington wants.

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