Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq is weakening under growing military pressure, according to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

They are rattled, they are weakening, we are getting a massive amount of intelligence... as to what is happening in Iraq Tony Blair

Mr Blair told a parliamentary committee in London that intelligence about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction had grown, and that it was necessary to keep up the pressure on Baghdad.

Speaking after both the UK and US announced new troop deployments to the Gulf, Mr Blair said he reserved the right to join in military action, even if a UN Security Council member vetoed such a move.

Earlier, the French Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, said that nothing so far justified military action and he did not rule out a French veto.

President George Bush said the Iraqi leader was not disarming, but "delaying and deceiving".

"It's like a rerun of a bad movie," he said.

The Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, and the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, are holding talks in Cairo designed to find a diplomatic solution to the Iraq crisis.

Prince Saud al-Faisal is also seeing the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Mayer, and both have issued denials that they are considering a way for President Saddam to leave Iraq.

These came amid persistent reports that Arab nations are putting together a proposal for President Saddam to go into exile, with his family and the regime's top officials, says the BBC's Middle East correspondent, Paul Wood.

'Only way out'

Mr Blair said failure to deal with the proliferation of weapons in Iraq would send the wrong message to other countries, including North Korea.

"The one thing that is very obvious is that as a result of the military build-up and as a result of the determination to see this thing through, the regime in Iraq and Saddam are weakening," he said.

Mr Blair repeated his view that it would be "highly desirable" to have a second UN resolution before taking military action.

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Where key nations stand on Iraq

But he said that if UN weapons inspectors concluded that the Iraqi leader was in breach of Security Council resolutions and "somebody puts down an unreasonable veto", action should still follow.

KEY DATES

27 Jan - First full report on inspections presented to UN 29 Jan - UN discusses report 31 Jan - Bush meets Blair 15 Feb - Anti-war protests across Europe 27 Mar - Blix submits new report to UN

Next steps in full

"There is no other way out for Saddam... other than disarming," he said.

Mr Blair said that 27 January - when the inspectors are due to report to the UN Security Council - was not necessarily the key date.

The January report is seen as a key milestone in the campaign to disarm Iraq.

Military build-up

The US has announced it is to send nearly 37,000 personnel to the Gulf in addition to the 62,000 troops ordered to mobilise earlier this month.

Deployment details

100,000 US troops including: 12,000 4th Infantry division troops 2,000 Marines trained for chemical and biological warfare 26,000 UK troops including: Royal Marines, tanks and an air assault brigade

Key maps: Military build up

The BBC's Nick Childs, at the Pentagon, says the decision is further evidence that the Americans are building up a force capable of a ground attack.

There are currently some 57,000 US personnel already in the region.

On Monday, Britain also announced a major deployment to the region of 26,000 troops.

More time

But clear divisions are surfacing within the UN Security Council.

Mr de Villepin insisted that the inspectors must be allowed to complete their work.

"We believe that, today, nothing justifies military action," he said.

"It is possible for us to make progress on the path of Iraq disarmament through co-operation and inspections."

China and Russia, both permanent members, say the inspectors should be given more time.

But US patience with Iraq appears to be wearing thin.

Secretary of State Colin Powell told the UN Security Council that it should not be scared into "impotence" when it came to dealing with Iraq.

One of the leaders of the UN inspection teams for Iraq, Mohamad ElBaradei, says the teams are only half way through their work.

Speaking in Athens, Mr ElBaradei said that both he and chief inspector Hans Blix would make this clear to the Security Council next week.