MPs want UN ruling before war with Iraq

The Labour MPs - Ann Cryer (Keighley), Marsha Singh ( Bradford West), Mike Wood, (Spen Valley) Harold Best (North West Leeds) and Alice Mahon (Halifax) - were among 41 who rebelled against Tony Blair in a technical vote to register their anger over the Government's hard-line stance on Iraq.

And today, the rebel MPs were just as vociferous in their views on the crisis in the Middle East.

Terry Rooney, Labour MP for Bradford North, said it was essential the allies worked with the UN.

"I am certain that it has to be a United Nations' operation but I think war is less likely now than it was before Christmas. All the troops out there are part of the psychological warfare at the moment.

"If they weren't in the Gulf then Saddam Hussein would think: 'I can get away with anything'."

And he is hoping democracy prevails. "The ideal situation would be that whatever weapons it has are disposed of and Saddam Hussein decides the game is up and we can get a democratic Government in Iraq. Behind all this there is a population that is suffering increasingly."

Ann Cryer, Keighley's Labour MP, said: "I think that in the 21st century there must be an alternative to killing men women and children and I am not sure we have looked for that solution yet."

She too, wanted UN-backed action.

"I would be opposed to a move without UN backing. For me that would be untenable. I am very angry we are posing a threat to innocent people. I hope that Saddam will remove himself, up sticks and go seek political asylum, say, in Libya."

Mrs Cryer was critical of America." I wish the US would drop its pure obsession with killing Iraqi people," she said. "Who armed Iraq to fight Iran? The Americans did."

Marsha Singh, Bradford West MP, said he was opposed to war in Iraq. "It appears to be a return to the medieval form of justice where we tried witches by throwing them in the river and if they floated they were guilty. If innocent, they die anyway.

"It is the same with Saddam Hussein: he is guilty if they find weapons and guilty if they don't."

Gerry Sutcliffe, Bradford South Labour MP, said: "It is clear what Saddam has to do. It is in his gift to resolve it. We need the UN support because he is a threat to the world. I would hope that he works with the weapons inspectors, they are given the time they need and we don't talk about deadlines on this matter. It is a very dangerous situation.

"Nobody wants to go to war but you have to stand up to people like Saddam."

Chris Leslie, a junior minister in the Labour Government and Shipley MP, said he backed the PM.

"As a Government minister and in my own right I obviously support the Prime Minister in terms of making it quite clear that the international community cannot tolerate weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a character like Saddam Hussein.

"It is right to go through the UN route. We are not in a position where we could go it alone with the US. That decision will have to be made then.

"But the international community would look stupid if there is a squabble at UN level and Saddam continues to build up his weapons of mass destruction while the rest of us fiddle around.

"We have to send a strong message to Saddam that he has to comply or face disarmament. The fact we are so close to the US is to our advantage and to the advantage to the rest of the world."

Harold Best, Labour MP for North West Leeds, said he was concerned about the prospect of war.

"And that's putting it mildly," he said. "I come from the generation which put its trust in the UN after the Second World War.

"I also want to know if Parliament is to get a vote on this."

Paul Truswell, Labour MP for Pudsey, again backed the UN to lead. "We should continue to work through the UN and the weapons inspectors should be given the opportunity they feel they need to complete their job," he said.

Mike Wood, Spen Valley's Labour MP, said: "I am utterly opposed to a war on Iraq. The contact I have had from constituents has been overwhelmingly one-sided in support of this position.

"The US president feels he has economic and political reasons to go to war - paying back his oil baron supporters and a need to distract Americans from problems with the domestic economy.

"We have no such justification and the recurring themes of weapons of mass destruction, Iraq posing a threat to the UK and the war on terror are all smoke-screens to excuse British participation.

"There is no evidence that Saddam Hussein has the weapons, there is no evidence he could use them against Britain and there is no evidence that he is linked with al-Qaeda. Waging war on the civilians of a broken third world country is not the answer."

Skipton MP David Curry was unavailable.