The prime minister has vowed to continue standing "shoulder to shoulder" with George Bush and America in Iraq.

In a set piece interview with the Independent on Friday Tony Blair argued that he will not bow to pressure to distance himself from the president.

However, most of the press are less concerned with Iraq and more interested in the possibility that Blair is preparing to step down.

They reported that the prime minister is struggling to convince backbenchers that he is not becoming a liability to the Labour Party.

"This is a very bad time. Tony is taking a pounding," the Guardian reports one of his supporters as saying.

The paper also carries a four and half page profile of Gordon Brown assessing his potential as a future prime minister.

Rumours persist that Blair is getting ready to hand over the reigns of power to his chancellor, perhaps in the autumn.

However, the prime minister told Independent journalists the speculation was just "froth".

Iraq

The prime minister devoted most of his interview to the situation in Iraq.

He dismissed "this idea that at the time of maximum difficulty you start messing around your main ally", adding: "I am afraid that is not what we are going to do."

He admitted that he is "frustrated" that Iraq is overshadowing what he called the government's significant achievements on the economy, jobs and public services, but vowed to keep the faith over the struggle in the country.

"The most important thing is that we work with our coalition partners and sort it out, get the security situation right, so the Iraqis themselves are capable of doing the security, which is what they want to do.

"If we succeed in that, that is a huge bonus for the security not just of the region but of the world."

Blair added that he would not "get into the business of seeing the relationship with America as a list of gains you have made. That is not the way I look at it."

"I know we are going through a difficult time. We have just got to make sure we prevail and succeed. It is in the interests of the world that we do. The alternative to that is not one we should contemplate."