TONY Blair returned from holiday last night to be faced with arguably his most difficult decision since becoming Prime Minister.

Does he support George Bush's clear desire to bomb Saddam Hussein out of power and by doing so risk his political future?

Or does he listen to the growing number of Britons who oppose an attack on Iraq, and jeopardise this country's special relationship with the US?

For all his declarations that he welcomes debate on this momentous issue, Mr Bush has made up his mind. Saddam represents unfinished business, he is a danger to world peace, and he must be removed at all costs.

But Mr Blair must listen to the mounting sense of disquiet among his own party and the voters who placed their trust in him.

Earlier this month, The Northern Echo conducted a poll in Mr Blair's Sedgefield constituency which result in a 64.6 per cent majority against supporting an attack on Iraq.

That was followed yesterday by a poll in The Guardian which showed a sharp increase in opposition to America's stance.

Saddam is despised in this country as a barbaric dictator. But there are others who fall into the same category.

And with a lack of compelling evidence that he really is stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, and the absence of any real parliamentary debate in this country, we are being asked to place our trust in what George Bush tells us - and that is a lot to ask.

Add to that the grave doubts over whether a bombing campaign against Iraq will provide greater stability in the Middle East or further undermine it, and the foundations upon which to launch a war look very shaky indeed.

While Downing Street insists that the Prime Minister and the American President are 100 per cent agreed on the need to deal with Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, an element of fudging remains.

Britain believes renewed United Nations weapons inspections remains a live option - America disagrees.

It is time for Mr Blair to end the confusion over where we stand.

When he was elected as Prime Minister in 1997, Mr Blair's euphoric message to the country was: "The greatest pride I could have is to repay your trust a thousand-fold."

With so much at stake, that trust has never stood a sterner test.