Britain and France are "working together" towards agreement on removing Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has said.

In Paris ahead of a four-day tour of the Middle East, Mr Straw stressed that effective diplomacy was the cornerstone in dealing with Iraq - but it must be backed by the threat of force.

Sometimes effective diplomacy has to be backed by the threat of force

Jack Straw

He said the two countries were "very close" in their attitudes to the Iraqi dictator - a contrast to the apparent differences over possible United Nations resolutions in recent weeks.

Mr Straw was speaking after meeting his French counterpart Dominique de Villepin in Paris.

The aim of the talks was to help bridge the gap between France and the US.

The foreign secretary is set to leave on Monday night for the Middle East where he hopes to gather further support for action against Iraq.

Inspections first

With Downing Street saying it is confident a new UN resolution can be agreed, Mr Straw will be holding talks in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Iran.

The UK has been supporting US calls for one resolution that both demands Saddam co-operate with weapons inspections and leaves the way open for military action if he does not comply.

Jack Straw has a tough four days ahead

France on the other hand - supported by the Russians - wants a twin-resolution approach with the first solely laying out conditions for the inspections and the second authorising military action.

The twin-resolution path has not been ruled out by either Britain or the US, but they had to be backed by the threat of force, Mr Straw said.

"We are agreed about the objective which has to be the disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and an end to the defiance, by Iraq, of the UN," he said.

"They are in serious breach of a series of UN obligations. They do represent a threat.

"We want to see a peaceful diplomatic solution to the threat posed by Iraq and to its disarmament of weapons of mass destruction.

"But we are also faced with the reality that sometimes effective diplomacy has to be backed by the threat of force."

Same goals

The French claim they would not rule out the use of military intervention if the inspections fail, but warn that inspectors must return to Iraq first.

Mr de Villepin said: "We share the same goals. We want the disarmament of Iraq and to put an end to its weapons of mass destruction.

He hoped for "very fast" agreement between the two sides over the question of resolutions.

During his tour of the Middle East, Mr Straw hopes to garner support for direct action on Iraq from countries which fear war will lead to destabilisation in the region.

'Regime change'

They would prefer the Western powers to concentrate on ending the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Downing Street has refused to confirm or deny reports that senior lawyers have warned Tony Blair that a war aimed specifically at "regime change" in Baghdad would be illegal.

The Financial Times says Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith and Solicitor-General Harriet Harman had given clear advice that military action with the goal of toppling Saddam Hussein would breach the UN charter.

In a difference of emphasis with senior US figures, Mr Blair says he would be delighted to see Saddam Hussein toppled but the central aim of his policy is disarming Iraq.

The prime minister's official spokesman said on Monday: "We are confident that there will be another resolution.

"I can't give you a timescale for when we might see a text, there are intensive discussions going on in New York."