Thousands of Welsh troops are in the Gulf

Political observers will be waiting to see if any Welsh ministers quit following the resignations of cabinet minister Robin Cook, Health Minister Lord Hunt of Kings Heath and Home Office Minister John Denham.

So far, eight Welsh Labour MPs have signalled their opposition and have signed the anti-war amendment.

There are 34 Welsh Labour MPs representing Wales and of those, nine are ministers or parliamentary aides and would have to resign if they wanted to vote against war.

All are in the middle of a nine hour debate about whether Britain should got to war and are expected to vote at 2200 GMT.

Back in Wales, First Minister Rhodri Morgan has so far refused to share his opinions.

He told AMs on Tuesday that he would assess the debate and Parliamentary vote before forming his own views.

Proceedings in Cardiff Bay were halted for a short time after a disturbance in the chamber which resulted in protesters being carried out as members began talking about a possible debate on the Iraq crisis.

In his address to the common at lunchtime, Prime Minister Tony Blair warned that backing down now would only make Saddam Hussein stronger.

It follows a speech early on Tuesday morning in which US President George W Bush gave the Iraqi leader and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq or face invasion.

Bush: Televised address to the USA

As around 2,000 military personnel from Wales prepare for war in the Gulf, Welsh Secretary Peter Hain said he was confident people in Wales support Tony Blair.

"This is a really difficult and tough decision we have had to face up to," he said.

"Saddam is a brutal tyrant - he has been defying the UN for 12 years - he has killed probably two million people.

"If there is concern about casualties in action, imagine what has happened already and what will happen in the future if we leave him unchecked."

And a senior Labour MP has called on the French government to dispatch an envoy to Baghdad immediately to call on Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq and save his people ahead of the impending conflict.

Martyn Jones MP, Chairman of the Welsh Affairs Committee in the House of Commons said: "Time is running out and conflict sadly now looks certain."

Rebellion

Ahead of the parliamentary vote on Tuesday night, Plaid Cymru MP Simon Thomas said he thought Robin Cook's resignation would have "stiffened the resolve" of potential Labour rebels, and said he feared action without internaional agreement.

"The way this situation has led us to be isolated from most of the rest of Europe is the key factor," he said.

Tory MP Nigel Evans, also the Shadow Welsh Secretary, said there would be a big rebellion in the vote after Robin Cook's speech, but said it did not matter if Tony Blair had to rely on Tory votes to pass the motion.

"Whoever Tony Blair has to rely on, it is the Parliament itself that will be endorsing the action that will take place, and that is what democracy is all about," he said.