4 SEPTEMBER 2004, Page 28

From Cedric Talbot Sir: Peter °borne is being disingenuous about

Blair and WMD. Much as I dislike Labour and all their works, I do believe that Blair did what he did in Iraq because he thought it was right, whatever their weaponry might turn out to be, If he wanted political comfort, he could have joined Chirac and the rest of the donothing brigade and might by now be taking a starring role in one of Michael Moore's cinematic rants. The amazing thing is that Blair the Democrat did exactly what you would expect a Tory prime minister to do. He agreed with Bush the Republican that the world's number one unindicted criminal, Saddam Hussein, should not be allowed to get away with it.

If we have learned anything from all this, it is perhaps the real reason for his continuing voter appeal. Blair has shown himself to be British first and Labour second, a quality which has surely been sorely lacking in some quarters of his Red-Flagsinging party.

Cedric Talbot

Tokyo, Japan