Meeting with US president George Bush in Washington yesterday, Tony Blair said the war on terrorism in Afghanistan needed to be complemented by movement on the Middle East peace process.

Referring to his meetings last week with Israel's Arial Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Blair said: "The seeds were sown which I hope can bear fruit in the future."

In a joint press conference the two leaders also vowed to bring Osama bin Laden and al Qaida to justice.

Before leaving for Washington, Blair was in the Commons for prime minister's question time, where he rejected calls from Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy to halt the use of cluster bombs. "If we want this conflict to be brought to an end quickly, we have to fight it vigorously," he said.

Earlier in the day, the prime minister also fended-off claims that his diplomatic efforts were leading him to neglect the domestic agenda. He told Labour MPs he had not taken his eye off the ball and said he would stay focussed on public service reform.