BRITAIN and America seized on a tougher-than-expected report from the UN’s chief weapons inspector last night to press the case for a war against Iraq on sceptical allies.

Iraq had yet to demonstrate a “genuine acceptance” of the need to comply with the UN’s disarmament demands, Hans Blix declared as he presented a litany of complaints about Baghdad’s conduct to the UN Security Council.

But his report served merely to deepen the split on the Council. France, Germany, Russia and China all demanded that the inspectors be given more time to complete their work, but the White House countered that “the more time they get the more time they are being given the run-around by Saddam Hussein”.

As tens of thousands of British and American troops mass in the Gulf region, diplomats now face a frenetic three weeks to try to bridge the divide. President Bush will use his State of the Union address tonight to stiffen the resolve of the American people. On Friday he will meet Tony Blair at Camp David to decide how much longer to give the inspection process.

The next key date will be February 14, when Dr Blix reports back to the Security Council on his demands that Iraq actively help his inspectors. President Saddam Hussein made no comment on the report yesterday, but met military aides “to prepare for different war scenarios”, Iraq’s state-run news agency said.

Clearly annoyed by Iraq’s contined obstruction, Dr Blix listed numerous instances where he suspected or had evidence of Iraq failing fully to declare important elements of its chemical, biological amd missile programmes.

He revealed that new missiles, already provided to the Iraqi Army, had been test-fired in excess of the 150 km range permitted by the UN — the closest he has come so far to a “smoking gun”.

“These missiles might very well represent prima facie proscribed systems . . . but some further technical considerations need to be made before we reach a conclusion on this issue,” he said.

Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, said the time for Iraq to disarm was “coming to an end”. He continued: “To this day the (Iraqi) regime continues to defy the will of the UN. The regime has responded with empty claims, empty declarations and empty gestures.”

In a direct challenge to his counterparts, John Negroponte, Washington’s UN Ambassador, said: “In the days ahead, we believe the Council and its member governments must face their responsiblities and consider what message council irresolution sends to Iraq and other proliferators. It benefits no one to let Saddam think he can wear us down.”

Jack Straw said that the Blix report showed that Iraq’s co-operation with the international community was a charade.

But the transatlantic allies faced an uphill battle to convince other key Security Council members to endorse military action. Gerhard Schröder, the German Chancellor, said a pre-emptive strike would mean that the “law of the jungle” had triumphed.

The sceptics were given ammunition by Mohamed Elbaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who said his inspectors had found no evidence that Iraq had revived its nuclear weapons programme. “We should be able within the next few months to provide credible assurance that Iraq has no nuclear weapons programme,” he said. “These few months would be a valuable investment in peace because they could help us avoid war.”

Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, also argued that the inspectors should be given more time and urged the Security Council to try to remain united. Its members “must have realised that time will be necessary — a reasonable amount of time. I’m not saying forever — but they do need time to get their work done,” he said. “And I suspect the Council will allow for that time.”

Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Britain’s UN envoy, said that yesterday’s meeting should be seen as part of a process that would continue with more Security Council consultations tomorrow and the next inspection report on February 14.

“It’s not a matter of time. It’s a matter of attitude, and the attitude we are getting from the Iraqis at the moment is just not sufficient for the eradication of the programmes that we know about,” Sir Jeremy said. “That’s what we are going to discuss. That is why time is running out.”

Diplomats said that only Spain and Bulgaria sided clearly with Britain and the US in the private session that followed the inspectors’ briefing. Almost all Council members acknowledged the need for greater Iraqi co-operation, but many stressed the need for more time.

“How much time? It could be several weeks. It could be a few months,” said Jean-Marc de la Sablière, the French Ambassador. “As long as the mechanism set out in Resolution 1441 is producing results. As long as there are prospects to reach our common goal of disarming Iraq peacefully, the inspections should continue.”

Gunter Pleuger of Germany said: “We should give the inspectors a realistic opportunity to achieve their goals in a peaceful manner.”

What Iraq must do:

• Guarantee safety of U2 surveillance flights over Iraq;
• Stop harassing UN inspectors;
• Explain production of more of the nerve agent VX than declared;
• Account for 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents from Iraq-Iran War;
• Account for 6,500 missing chemical rockets;
• Produce evidence that it has destroyed 8,500 litres of anthrax;
• Declare whereabouts of 650kg of bacterial growth media, enough to produce 5,000 litres of concentrated anthrax;
• Halt production of Al Samoud 2 and Al Fatah with a range beyond the 150km limit;
• Reveal whereabouts of 380 rocket engines, smuggled into Iraq last month with chemicals used for missile propellants and control systems;
• Provide more names of scientists involved in weapons of mass destruction. So far only 400 of an estimated 3,500 people have been named;
• Provide scientists for private interview;
• Hand over sensitive documents hidden in private homes and documents detailing purchase or destruction of suspect materials;
• Search for banned weapons and destroy them under UN supervision.

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