LONDON, Sept 22: The British prime minister came under pressure from his own cabinet on Sunday to tread a more cautious line over Iraq.

Tony Blair, who is already isolated on the world stage in his support for US President George Bush’s plans to oust Iraq President Saddam Hussein, came under new pressure to be more circumspect when two of his own ministers joined the chorus of disapproval from members of parliament.

“We cannot have another Gulf war,” International Development Secretary Clare Short told ITV television on Sunday.

“We cannot have the people of Iraq suffering again. They have suffered too much. That would be wrong... We have to find a way of enforcing, quite rightly, UN resolutions,” she said.

Robin Cook, Blair’s former foreign secretary, said in an interview published on Saturday that any war against Iraq must have broad international support.

The ministers’ public warnings have created a new headache for Blair, who is already facing opposition within his Labour Party toward a war on Iraq.—AFP