TARIQ AZIZ, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq and one of the most high-profile figures of Saddam Hussein’s regime, was being held by US troops last night after surrendering to coalition forces in Baghdad.

Mr Aziz, 66, was the public face of Saddam’s regime, travelling abroad and making frequent television appearances to defend the actions of the ruling Baath party. He was part of Saddam’s inner circle and is by far the most important Iraqi official to be apprehended since the fall of Baghdad. He was Number 43 on the coalition’s list of Iraq’s most wanted and eight of spades in the coalition’s “most-wanted” pack of cards.

President Bush was informed of Mr Aziz's capture as he travelled to Washington on Air Force One. As he arrived on the White House lawn reporters shouted: “What about Tariq Aziz?” Mr Bush, who rarely answers impromptu questions, smiled and gave a triumphant thumbs up. US Central Command later confirmed that Aziz was in American custody.

Last night, Mr Bush said that the US-led occupation of Iraq could last two years, and speculated that there was some evidence that Saddam may have been killed in the air strikes that started the war. He said that the agent in Baghdad who pinpointed a compound where he believed the Iraqi leader was meeting with top aides “felt like we got Saddam” in the bombardment on March 19 of a Baghdad apartment complex using US “stealth” aircraft and cruise missiles.

According to US officials an intermediary for Mr Aziz approached American forces in Baghdad to state that Mr Aziz was interested in turning himself in, suggesting some sort of deal. Told that America did not strike deals with officials from the Saddam regime, Mr Aziz nevertheless surrendered last night.

The only Christian in the Baath party hierarchy, Mr Aziz, a Chaldean Catholic, fluent English speaker and cultivated diplomat, had been Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister since July 1979 and was one of Saddam’s most trusted and influential officials, supervising Iraqi foreign policy and remaining utterly loyal to Saddam to the end.

With his surrender there were growing hopes last night in Washington that Mr Aziz, who has one of the most impressive survival records in Iraqi politics, could be willing to reveal what he knew about the Saddam regime.

American officials are convinced that Mr Aziz, who had been at the heart of Saddam’s regime since 1974 when he became Minister for Information, will have detailed and crucial information about the whereabouts of Iraq’s banned weapons.

White House strategists were also delighted with the news, for both domestic and international reasons. By having such a high-profile figure as Mr Aziz in custody, who second to Saddam is the best known Baath party figure in America and Iraq, the hope in Washington was that his capture would send an unequivocal message to the people of Iraq that Saddam's regime and rule of fear was truly over. It was also a symbol to the American public that a massive US presence in Iraq was still justified.

Joseph Wilson, the former American ambassador to Iraq, said last night: “He’s been with Saddam since the very beginning and given his seniority he probably knows a lot of the innermost secrets.” Mr Aziz was last seen on Iraqi television on April 7, on a tape showing Saddam meeting his top aides and his two sons, though it was not clear when the footage was actually shot.

He last appeared in public March 19, when he held a news conference in Baghdad to quash rumours that he had fled the Iraqi capital.

“I am carrying my pistol to confirm to you that we are ready to fight the aggressors,” Mr Aziz said then. “American soldiers are nothing but mercenaries and they will be defeated.”

When Saddam sought to consolidate his grip on the presidency, Mr Aziz was instructed to get closer to the most senior people in the Baath party to discover if they had, in the words of Saddam, “a black spot in their heart against me”.

The result was a top-level meeting of the party during which Saddam drew a paper from his pocket, announced a conspiracy and with theatrical gesture read out a list of those who had betrayed him. One by one, amid screams and roars of approval, they were led out. More than 20 were executed. Despite his image as an urbane and wily negotiator somewhat aloof from the worst atrocities of the Baath party, Mr Aziz, who has survived at least two assassination attempts, has defended the worst excesses of Saddam and sought to justify putting the victims of hangings on public display. When huge crowds turned out to view the bodies in central Baghdad, he said they were not being barbaric, merely enjoying the fact that Saddam had toppled the monarchy.

Recently he appeared to have briefly lost the trust of Saddam, but the impression was illusory. A few days into the war there were rumours that he had been assassinated, or had fled. He quickly appeared at a Baghdad press conference and rubbished the claims.

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