TONY BLAIR was hailed yesterday as a "saviour of the Iraqi people" by the country's deputy prime minister.

In a message aimed at voters in Mr Blair's Sedgefield constituency, where the Prime Minister is challenged by five anti-war candidates, Barham Saleh told The Northern Echo: "If war and peace is the deciding issue (on how you cast your vote), I would say Mr Blair should be commended for bringing down and removing a brutal dictator responsible for two regional wars and who was committing genocide against the people of Iraq.

"Mr Blair has stabilised the Middle East and brought the prospects of peace that much closer because a terrible warmonger, an evil dictator, has been removed."

Perhaps the biggest threat to Mr Blair's 17,713 majority is independent Reg Keys, who lost his son Tom during the Gulf War. Yesterday, The Northern Echo revealed the TV impressionist Rory Bremner was the latest celebrity to support Mr Keys.

Mr Saleh said: "As a parent, I understand the pain and anguish of anyone who losses a son or daughter. Nothing can bring back that precious life.

"But I hope they understand that that sacrifice was not in vain. It is appreciated. Without the British and Americans sending their armed forces, we would still be condemned to the tyranny of Saddam Hussein."

Mr Saleh, a Kurd, fled Iraq in 1979 and was educated at Cardiff and Liverpool universities.

He had been a Labour Party member and, 20 years ago, had taken part in anti-war marches in London.

"War is a painful option and should always be questioned," he said. "It is not an easy option. It is the most hard option. In the case of Iraq, it was the only option. In the face of dictatorship and tyranny, there can be only one language."

Mr Saleh, the deputy prime minister in the outgoing interim government, was speaking on the day that insurgents carried out a series of deadly attacks, including ten car bombings in and around Baghdad, killing at least 27 Iraqis.

"I live in Iraq and despite the images of carnage that you see here, Iraq is moving forward," he said.

"It is becoming the first genuine democratic state in the Middle East - on Wednesday we announced the first democratic government in the history of Iraq."

Mr Saleh said that 8,000 civilians had died in the conflict and not the 100,000 claimed by anti-war protestors.

He was dismissive of claims that the war might have been illegal. He said: "There was another massive grave uncovered on Wednesday, in the desert at Samawa in southern Iraq, where scores and scores of bodies of civilians, including women and children, were discovered. That underlines the legality of the war.

"On every count the Iraqi dictator violated every single UN resolution.

"You can get a lawyer to argue a technicality, get an accused person acquitted on the benefit of the doubt, but Saddam Hussein had too much benefit of the doubt over 35 years of his brutal regime.

"The war was necessary and legal and, more importantly, morally imperative to bring peace and freedom to the people of Iraq."

Mr Saleh, returning to Iraq for today's swearing-in of the new government, said: "In Iraq, Tony Blair is a champion of freedom, a saviour.

"He is a man that we trust because we know he's a leader with a vision and is determined and committed to the cause of freedom and peace across the world."

He concluded: "Talk to the widows of the genocide about what Tony Blair means to them - and then you hear lawyers argue a technicality as if it were a tax fraud case!"