PRIME Minister Tony Blair last night spoke of his anger at critics of the war against Iraq, accusing them of insulting British servicemen and women who risked their lives in the conflict.

Speaking exclusively to The Northern Echo to mark 20 years since he was elected MP for Sedgefield, the Prime Minister said the mounting controversy over weapons of mass destruction undermined the courage of the armed forces which had helped remove an evil regime.

He said: "What angers me most is that this was a very difficult task for the British troops. They did it with incredible courage and they did the right thing.

"You only have to go to Iraq to see the absolute devastation of the country, not caused by the Allied campaign but by Saddam Hussein.

"Last week, I visited a palace in Basra which he had built which must have cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

"He never used it and right next door are slums.

"Iraq is potentially one of the richest countries in the world because of its oil. Tens of thousands of children would die every year from disease which was preventable. Now we have liberated them, and the Middle East peace process is moving.

"So it is wrong when people try to take away the basic truth of what happened, which is that Saddam was removed - rightly - and he was removed because - rightly - he was considered a threat to his country, to the region and to the world."

Mr Blair also defended himself against accusations that he had manipulated intelligence reports to bounce an unwilling nation into war.

He said: "The idea that I would start doctoring intelligence reports is ridiculous."

He said the allegations came from sections of the media who had been against the war all along and who were now attacking him hard in the hope of breaking the vital bond of trust between politician and electorate.

"What I say to them is that if you have any evidence for it, produce it," he said.

"But these claims come from anonymous sources so what can I say other than it is not true?

"On WMD (weapons of mass destruction), the group searching for them has only gone in this week so it is not surprising they have not uncovered anything.

"In Northern Ireland we were searching for IRA weapons for the best part of 40 years and that is in a tiny country; Iraq is almost the size of France.

"The notion that this has been an invention either by the Government or the security services is absurd."

In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Blair also suggested that the enormous progress Newcastle had made in recent years may have been a factor that led to the city losing out to Liverpool in the race to become European Capital of Culture.

He also dismissed criticism that he should have done more to help the Newcastle and Gateshead bid succeed.

He said: "It is completely ridiculous that people in the North-East should feel betrayed. I would have loved it to come to Newcastle, I would have been absolutely delighted.

"The recommendation is made by an independent committee and I am not allowed to interfere with that, and I didn't.

"Newcastle put in a fantastic bid. I don't know why it didn't win but it may be that people think Newcastle has done so fantastically well recently it doesn't need it."

He added: "And neither is Liverpool winning anything to do with the fact that Cherie comes from there."

In the interview, which was conducted on a plane as Mr Blair flew back to his constituency from London for a private anniversary party tonight in Trimdon, the Prime Minister explained how his 20 years in Sedgefield have enabled him to rebuild the Labour Party.

He said: "I have always believed that what we have done as a Government is return the party to its values.

"That is disputed by people on the Left, but if you look at the New Deal, the minimum wage, the working families' tax credits and the massive increase in health and education spending, these are very traditional Labour policies but they are being pursued in a different way in today's world."