London: British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in an interview published on April 18
that he had instructed officials to prepare for his resignation if he lost a crucial
Parliamentary vote on war with Iraq.
Blair told 'The Sun' newspaper that he had been ready to quit if he was defeated on
last month's vote authorising military action by rebel members of Parliament in his
own Labour party.
"In the end, it is a decision you put the whole of the premiership on the line for,"
he told Britain's top-selling tabloid.
It was always possible that you could be in that situation. But the point is that
some people are going to die as a result of your decision," he said.
"In the end if you lose your premiership, well you lose it. But at least you lose it
on the basis of something that you believe in," he said.
On March 18, Blair won backing from Parliament for war against Iraq, but suffered a
blow to his authority after MPs from his own party staged a huge rebellion against
his
hard-line stance.
After a highly charged nine-and-a-half-hour emergency debate in the run-up to a
likely conflict, the House of Commons backed a motion that Britain should use "all
means necessary" to ensure the disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
The motion was carried by 412 votes to 149.
