Howard: On the attack

Michael Howard has accused the prime minister of lying about the Iraq war.

Stepping up his criticism of Tony Blair, the Conservative leader said the issue had led to a loss of trust in the government.

His comments, made in an interview with the New Statesman magazine, came as Labour's divisions on the war were set to be exposed during a debate at its conference in Brighton.

"Iraq has been the catalyst for the distrust with which people regard the present government," said Howard.

"I think people hold the view pretty firmly now that they were lied to over Iraq.

"I don't think that's the only thing they were lied to about... but Iraq is the great catalyst for the loss of trust in the government."

Asked directly whether the prime minister had lied about the issue, Howard said: "Yes."

The Tory chief said the failure to be frank about the "qualifications, caveats, warnings" attached to the intelligence on Iraq weapons of mass destruction was the key issue.

He added that the "unambiguous evidence" put to the country by the prime minister was not matched by the briefings he had received from the intelligence services.