The world would be better off without him [Saddam Hussein] and so would the future

President Bush

He said Britain and America had agreed that Iraq would be better off without Saddam Hussein.

However, both leaders were careful not to mention immediate military action against Iraq and emphasised that further discussions would have to take place.

'Heed the threat'

The situation in Iraq, which was originally expected to dominate the US-UK summit remained on the agenda, despite the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

President Bush warned of the possibility that Iraq could link up with a terrorist network and spread weapons of mass destruction.

"The world would be better off without him [Saddam Hussein] and so would the future," said Mr Bush.

Mr Blair said: "We must heed the threat [of weapons of mass destruction] and act to prevent it being realised".

"Now, how we approach this, this is a matter for discussion," said Mr Blair who faces opposition at home to a military offensive in Iraq.

The BBC's Rob Watson, who is covering the talks, says that although Mr Blair has often been portrayed as a moderating influence on the US leader, there was little evidence of that moderation in a performance from Mr Bush likely to do little in the battle for Arab public opinion.