Tony Blair has been warned by a member of Labour's national executive that he would face a walkout protest if he goes ahead with plans to invite Iyad Allawi, the leader of the interim Iraqi government, to the Labour Party conference.

Mark Seddon said: "I am going to kick up a fuss about this at the next NEC.

"A lot of us said at our last meeting we wanted John Kerry to win the presidential election. We should be inviting the Democrats to our conference, not Allawi. There will be a walkout if it goes ahead."