Salmond: Impeachment demand

As the US begins an all-out strike on Fallujah the prime minister has come under fresh pressure over his decision to go to war in Iraq.

In what ministers will dismiss as a fresh PR stunt, the SNP's Alex Salmond has released the text of a motion calling for the prime minister's impeachment.

On the day that the Iraqi government declared a state of emergency, a cross-party group of MPs - which includes Douglas Hogg, Adam Price and Elfyn Llwyd - have mounted a fresh bid to "ensure the prime minister is held accountable for his deception over the Iraq war".

Salmond says that the motion will be tabled early in the next parliamentary session and wants it debated as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Demand

"This motion has been drawn up on all party business, that the case for impeachment should be investigated by a select committee," he said.

"Given the detailed analysis that demonstrates than on no less than 28 occasions the prime minister directly misled parliament and the people about the nature of the threat from Iraq and intelligence that he claimed to be receiving, no rational person could conclude that there is not a case to answer.

"The appalling consequences of the prime minister's behaviour and the cost in human lives are there for all to see and it is high time that Mr Blair was called to account in a proper democratic way as this motion outlines."

Statement

Meanwhile MPs are hoping for an early parliamentary statement on what, if any, involvement British forces will have in the onslaught against insurgents in Fallujah.

The US appears poised to mount the strike within days - with the Iraqi government claiming the move is essential if the ground is to be properly prepared for elections in January.

But following the death of three Black Watch soldiers last week, critics of the war are repeating their demand for the full withdrawal of British troops from the region.