TODAY I will be speaking at a local mosque as part of the regular dialogue I have with the Muslim community of the Tees Valley. I expect the feedback to be similar to that I received at two other mosques I have visited recently.

I have found that the overriding views expressed by local Muslims in the wake of the current Middle East fighting are neither anti-Israel nor pro-Hezbollah. Instead, it is bewilderment at Tony Blair's refusal to join the rest of the world - bar America - in calling for an immediate ceasefire.

I'm aware of the argument that an immediate ceasefire would have allowed Hezbollah to reload their missiles and prepare for round two, that it would do nothing to achieve long term peace. But this seems to be putting the cart before the horse.

As scores of civilians are being slain as they try to go about their everyday business, there does come a point where governments of the world have to say enough is enough. A point where they act to stop the carnage and then step in to prevent the same thing happening again.

One view expressed over the airwaves in recent days was the suggestion that the strategies carried out in the Second World War could never have gone on under the glare of today's media coverage.

What would the reaction have been from the rest of the world if images of the bombing of Dresden and Coventry, and the impact that had on civilians, been beamed into every household?

Perhaps Tony Blair doesn't think that times have changed.

Of course, Mr Blair does not have to face another election as leader, so perhaps the views of the electorate are not as pressing - certainly it is noticeable that Gordon Brown has been very quiet on the ceasefire issue.

Perhaps the biggest indictment of the lack of belief many people now have in the Government was the initial reaction to news yesterday that Britain had been placed on "critical alert" for a terrorist attack.

I admit that, initially, the thought briefly crossed my mind as to whether this was simply a leaked story to distract media attention from the Middle East. It is obvious now that something did happen to trigger such a response from police and security organisations but that initial doubt illustrates why Mr Blair is right to stand down.

Police have not minced their words; they describe the foiled plot as an attempt to perpetrate "mass murder on an unimaginable scale".

It illustrates how countries like the US and the UK, who become involved in Middle East issues, will be identified as targets. I think there is no doubt that there are other countries who might well share similar views as to how terrorism can be combated, but stay quiet for fear the bombers will visit their shores.

Which is why I would like to see the United Nations move out of the debating chamber and into the battleground. The UN more and more resembles a talking shop, a collection of people who regard themselves as "wise men" pontificating and issuing directives without taking any meaningful steps to ensure they are adhered to.

Well, the time has come for the UN to get its hands dirty. I'm sure many will feel that if the UN had done its job properly then both the war in Iraq and the current Middle-East fighting might have been avoided.

If the organisation is to have any future credibility then it needs to step forward and police the troublespots of the world with more than mere words alone.