Ex-minister in Iraq 'war on terror' row

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Former Labour minister Helen Liddell's remarks appeared to contradict the stance of Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard, who has said his country's troops must stay in Iraq because it is a key front in the war on terrorism.

Her comments were seized upon by Australia's opposition Labour Party, which said they exposed the "lies" of Mr Howard's Liberal-National coalition.

Mrs Liddell - who was in Tony Blair's Cabinet when the decision was made to invade Iraq in 2003 - said in a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra yesterday that the term "war on terror" was a "tabloid slogan".

"We have never seen Iraq as part of the war on terror," said Ms Liddell.

"Certainly we are engaged in a war on the streets in Iraq against terrorism, but our raison d'etre for our involvement in Iraq has not been about terrorism."

The Australian Labour Party's defence spokesman, Joel Fitzgibbon, said Mr Howard's government had been embarrassed.

"I'm sure it wasn't intentional on her part but she's embarrassed John Howard and his government, she's exposed the lie that our participation in Iraq is all about the war on terror," he told reporters.

But Mr Howard - who has been one of US President George Bush's staunchest international allies - told the Australian media there was no split with the UK over Iraq.

"The British Government believes Iraq is very much part of the war against terrorism," said Mr Howard.

"There can be no doubt in the mind of the head of the British Government that Iraq is part of the battleground against terrorism, and our view and the view of the British Government is identical."

The row comes days after International Development Secretary Hilary Benn urged world leaders to stop using the term "war on terror" because it risked strengthening extremists.

The Australian Labour Party, which is leading in the polls ahead of this year's general elections, is promising to withdraw the country's 1,400 troops from Iraq if it wins power.