British lawmakers decided on Tuesday to launch an inquiry into Prime Minister Tony Blair's motives for attacking Iraq as he faced accusations of misleading parliament and the public over Saddam Hussein's suspected banned weapons.

Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee said late on Tuesday it would look into the decision to go to war, focusing particularly on the issue of weapons of mass destruction.

Earlier, Blair's office held talks with the parliamentary committee that scrutinizes the intelligence services about a possible inquiry into evidence of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, his spokesman said.

Blair and President Bush ousted the Iraqi leader on the grounds that his weapons posed a serious threat, but no chemical, biological or nuclear arms have been found, prompting claims they hyped up intelligence to justify war.

Blair has angrily denied the allegations and said no independent inquiry was necessary. But his spokesman said the Joint Intelligence and Security Committee, a parliamentary committee that reports directly to Blair, may probe the case.

In contrast to the Security Committee, an inquiry by the Foreign Affairs Committee is normally held in public. The inquiries would follow a similar move in Washington where the Senate is planning hearings on the motives for war.

The Foreign Affairs Committee inquiry will focus "particularly on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction," Chairman Donald Anderson told Reuters.

The issue of Iraq's weapons has come back to haunt Blair, who risked his premiership by defying public opinion over the war but appeared to emerge unscathed after Saddam's swift fall.

"In trying to make the case for war, Tony Blair stretched his credibility to the limit and has potentially done serious harm to his own standing and public trust in government," said Charles Kennedy, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats.

HARSH CRITICS

While it could take some heat off Blair, the inquiry may not silence his harshest critics, many within his own Labor Party. Many of the committee's previous reports have been filled with blanks where material deemed sensitive has been edited out.

Talk of the inquiry comes as parliament gears up for a mammoth day of talks on Iraq and its weapons on Wednesday.

After a week of globetrotting, Blair will have to field questions at his weekly prime minister's question time. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has cut short a NATO meeting in Madrid to respond to an opposition debate on Iraq.

Two of Blair's former ministers, both of whom resigned over Iraq, have accused him of duping the public and committing a "monumental blunder" by going to war.

Fifty members of parliament from Blair's Labor Party, which was deeply split over Iraq, have signed up to a motion calling on him to publish in full his evidence against Saddam. One said the potential scandal was "more serious than Watergate."

Already widespread cynicism over British-US motives for war was fueled by a BBC report quoting an intelligence source as saying Blair's Downing Street office made a report "sexier" by adding that Iraq could deploy weapons at 45 minutes' notice.

Leader of the Commons John Reid lashed out those who gave credence to allegations that Downing Street had "doctored" the report, The Times said in its Wednesday edition.

"There have been uncorroborated briefings by a potentially rogue element...in the intelligence services. I find it difficult to grasp why this should be believed against the word of the British Prime Minister," the paper quoted Reid as saying.

(Reuters)

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