With Mr Bush’s approval rating at a record low, the White House announced that the President would address the nation from Louisiana tomorrow night at peak television viewing time.

There was growing speculation last night that Mr Bush may use the occasion to appoint a “czar” to oversee the recovery effort. Possible candidates include Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State, and Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York.

Mr Bush’s acceptance of responsibility for the Government’s slow and inadequate response is a sign of how serious the political fallout from the hurricane has become. It is a rare step from a president who abhors admitting mistakes.

“Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capabilities at all levels of government,” Mr Bush said during a White House news conference with President Talabani of Iraq. “To the extent the federal government didn’t fully do its job right, I take responsibility.”

Asked whether Americans should be worried about the Government’s ability to respond to another natural disaster or a terrorist attack, he replied: “Are we capable of dealing with a severe attack? That’s a very important question and it’s in the national interest that we find out what went on so we can better respond.”

Mr Bush’s speech will be the first formal address to the nation since Katrina struck more than two weeks ago. It comes as polls suggest that Americans are losing confidence in his leadership and his ability to deal with crises.

The President’s overall job approval rating in yesterday’s Washington Post/ABC News poll was 42 per cent, a new low. His disapproval rating was 57 per cent, a double-digit increase since January. Only half the public now believes that he is a strong leader, compared with 62 per cent in May last year, while 49 per cent believe that he can be trusted in a crisis, compared with 60 per cent last year.

There were signs that Mr Bush had begun to regain some ground, however, with reports that conditions in New Orleans were improving. In a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, 54 per cent disapproved of his initial response to Katrina, but 58 per cent said that his response had been good in recent days.

As Louisiana got to grips with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the authorities began the first big prosecution since the disaster, charging the owners of St Rita’s nursing home near New Orleans, where 34 residents drowned. Mable and Salvador Mangano were arrested yesterday and charged with 34 counts of negligent homicide. “They were warned repeatedly that this storm was coming,” Charles Foti, Louisiana’s Attorney-General, said. “In effect, their inaction resulted in the deaths of these patients.”

In Washington, the new director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency pledged greater efforts to find new accommodation for victims. David Paulison has replaced Michael Brown, who resigned on Monday.

Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, said that some military aircraft might soon leave the region. “Most, if not all, of the search and rescue is completed,” he said.

• A long-term resident of New Orleans was confirmed last night as the first Briton known to have been killed by the hurricane. The Foreign Office would not say whether the victim was a man or a woman. Another 100 Britons are missing.

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