TONY Blair's hard-line stance against Saddam Hussein divides his country, his party, Parliament and the international community.

Yet in the face of such hostility he is still prepared to go to war against Iraq.

The resolve of the Prime Minister, renowned for not making a policy decision before sounding out public opinion, is to be respected.

His judgement, however, is not.

As yet there is no proof that Iraq has in its possession weapons of mass destruction capable of posing a threat to the rest of the world.

We all have suspicions of the potential threat. But suspicions are insufficient justification to ask members of our armed forces to lay their lives on the line.

Indeed it can be argued that with the eyes of the world watching his regime's every move and with the UN presence in his country, Saddam is weaker than at any time in his dictatorship.

In his long-awaited report today the United Nations' chief weapons inspector will confirm that Saddam Hussein has yet to be caught red-handed with a "smoking gun".

And when it meets to consider Hans Blix's report on Wednesday, the UN Security Council will allow the inspection team to continue its work in Iraq.

Until the necessary evidence is uncovered Britain and the United States should refrain from any unilateral action.

When they meet at Camp David on Friday, Mr Blair and President Bush must listen to the calls for restraint, and resist the temptation to talk themselves into going to war.

If they are so convinced that Saddam has weapons of mass destruction then they should have the confidence to give the UN inspectors time to uncover them.

And if they have evidence themselves then they should point the UN inspectors in the right direction.

Only through such a considered course of action will it be possible to hold together the international community and public opinion.

Their difficulty is that with the display of military might in the Gulf, they have left themselves little scope for patience and little room for manoeuvre.