BRITAIN: The British Defence Secretary, Mr Geoff Hoon, has now mobilised a 30,000-strong landforce for the Gulf, while insisting no decisions have yet been taken on military action against Iraq.
Mr Hoon's landforce package includes 120 Challenger tanks and 150 Warrior armoured personnel carriers, along with Headquarters 1 (UK) Armoured Division, with support from 7th Armoured Brigade (the Desert Rats), 16 Air Assault Brigade and 102 Logistics Brigade.
Repeating the Downing Street line that war was still not inevitable, Mr Hoon yesterday told MPs that the higher-than-expected deployment of British forces would add extra weight to diplomatic activity to ensure Iraq's compliance with UN Resolutions.
At the same time, the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, echoed US suggestions of possible exile for President Saddam Hussein, declaring war still "literally a last choice".
However, the Liberal Democrats described the most significant development of the British military build-up to date - involving an estimated quarter of the Britain's military force - as "a defining moment" in the Blair government's policy over Iraq.
While the Conservative defence spokesman, Mr Bernard Jenkin, gave the government unqualified support - saying the scale of the deployment announced by Mr Hoon confirmed the seriousness of the situation - his colleague, Ms Caroline Spelman, was pressing International Development Secretary Ms Clare Short to set out what preparations her department was making to deal with any possible humanitarian disaster resulting from war.
Following Mr Hoon's third statement to MPs since the new year, the Department for International Development said there were "no plans" as yet for a statement by Ms Short, still considered the minister most likely to quit Mr Blair's government if military action is undertaken without a second resolution giving explicit UN approval.
Ms Spelman said: "Humanitarian agencies are warning of a potential humanitarian disaster if we go to war with Iraq . . . It is now time that Clare Short reassured people that she was fully involved in preparations for war."
Suggesting that there would probably be greater public support for war with Iraq if people were assured the government was planning for its humanitarian consequences, Ms Spelman continued: "The government needs to do far more to win over public support for war. Clare Short's reluctance to speak to parliament on this issue is a serious cause for concern."
There was obvious satisfaction in Whitehall last night at the surprised reaction of sections of the British media, some of whom had predicted a "token" British deployment in support of any US-led action.
Asked if the US needed British assistance on such a scale, and whether he was sending "an expensive political signal", Mr Hoon told the BBC that events in Afghanistan had shown the crucial role Britain could play in support of the US and that it stood ready to do so again.
Mr Hoon had earlier told the Commons: "A decision to deploy force has not been taken, nor is such a deployment imminent or inevitable." However he added that his announcement yesterday amounted to "no ordinary measure", later adding: "It shows we mean business."
Still in the business of diplomacy, Mr Straw flew out to New York for a meeting of foreign ministers at the UN, stressing that Britain and the US were keen to avoid military conflict if possible.
Welcoming reports that the Saudi government and other Arab leaders were keen on encouraging Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq, Mr Straw said: "The big question is, will he hear them in time? Because one thing is certain - the man cannot continue in the way he is, failing fully to comply with UN resolutions and cocking a snook at the international community."