Letters of support for Blair

Mr Tony Blair's office last night announced that the British prime minister had received letters from statesmen and the general…

Mr Tony Blair's office last night announced that the British prime minister had received letters from statesmen and the general public, numbering "well into three figures", supporting the Northern Ireland Agreement.

Included were messages from the US President, Mr Bill Clinton; the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Ryutaro Hashimoto; France's President Jacques Chirac and PM Mr Lionel Jospin; Italy's Mr Romano Prodi; President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt; Jordan's King Hussein; former Israeli PM, Mr Shimon Peres; Dutch PM, Mr Wim Kok; Canadian PM, Mr Jean Chretien; New Zealand's PM, Ms Jenny Shipley; Singapore's Senior Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew; Argentinian President Carlos Menem and Bangladeshi PM, Sheikh Hasina Wajed.

As Mr Blair leaves for the Middle East today, the name of the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benamin Netanyahu, is conspicuously absent from the list.