"I stand absolutely, 100 percent behind the evidence, based on intelligence that we presented to people," Blair said on the sidelines of a G8 summit in France when asked about pre-war British claims Iraq could fire chemical or biological weapons within 45 minutes.

Blair reacted angrily to charges laid by former foreign secretary Robin Cook and ex-development minister Clare Short that he had embellished claims about Saddam Hussein's illegal weapons as a justification for the war.

"I think it is important that if people actually have evidence, they produce it," Blair said. "But it is wrong, frankly, for people to make allegations on the basis of so-called anonymous sources when the facts are precisely that facts that we have stated."

Blair has faced constant questioning about the issue throughout a trip which took him to Iraq itself as well as Kuwait, Poland and Russia ahead of the G8 meetings, amid calls in Britain for an independent inquiry.

The prime minister, Washington's closest ally in the war, appealed for people to "have a little patience" while the search for chemical and biological weapons in Iraq continued.

"When we accumulate that evidence properly, we will give it to people," he added.

WAR.WIRE