A British minister has warned that the Spanish bomb blasts have vindicated Tony Blair's tough line on terrorism.

Europe minister Denis MacShane will travel to Madrid today for a service to mark the atrocity.

As he heads to Spain the minister told the BBC: "This is a new politics. Even today I was reading articles somehow dismissing or saying the prime minister was exaggerating, I really don't see how these journalists can hold their heads up."

Condolences

The foreign secretary and prime minister yesterday expressed their condolences after a series of bomb blasts in Madrid left nearly 200 dead.

The Spanish government has blamed ETA for the attacks, although the Basque separatist group has reportedly denied involvement.

New reports suggest there could be a link between the 10 bomb blasts and the al Qaeda network.

The Interior Ministry in Madrid reported that over 170 died and 1,400 were injured when a series of explosions hit the Atocha, El Pozo and Santa Eugenia stations at 7.30am local time.

Campaigning for Sunday's general election has been suspended, and the Spanish government has declared three days of mourning.

Speaking in London, the prime minister said the blasts underlined the threat posed by terrorism.

"The terrible attack underlines the threat that we all continue to face from terrorism in many countries and why we all must work together internationally to safeguard our peoples against such attacks and defeat terrorism," Tony Blair told the Cabinet.

He later spoke with Spain's prime minister Jose Maria Aznar.

Speaking to journalists in Downing Street, Jack Straw expressed his condolences to those injured in the blasts and the relatives of those killed.

The foreign secretary could not confirm whether any Britons had been killed or injured in the coordinated explosions - although it is thought one British citizen was injured.

"I've already telephoned my Spanish counterpart, Ana Palacio, the Spanish foreign minister, formally to express the British government's shock and condolences in the face of these outrages," he said.

"I have told her that the British people sadly have had similar experiences of such disgusting terrorist atrocities, and that we stand shoulder to shoulder with the Spanish people and government in their fight against this kind of terrorism."

Straw warned that the attacks were an assault on the principles of freedom.

"These atrocities come just a few days before the Spanish general election. So we have all to recognise too that these atrocities are a disgusting assault on the very principle of European democracy as well," he added.