In a blunt attack he said French support for a UN resolution before the fighting could have forced Saddam Hussein to allow full-scale weapons inspections, thus averting any conflict.

The PM also revealed for the first time that Mr Chirac � dubbed Le Worm by The Sun � had warned him personally he would not back military action.

Mr Blair told MPs: "France would not accept any resolution that contained an ultimatum. That was what was said to me on the phone. They did not agree to these benchmarks."