Al Akhbar newspaper made the prediction Monday in a commentary about Blair's refusal in Japan to say whether he might resign over the suicide of scientist David Kelly who was caught in a row over Iraqi weapons.

The daily highlighted "the face humiliated by (his) lie" that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, the main British justification for launching the war to topple Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

"What is pushing the leader of Britain, which was once Great, to be most of the time a servile servant?" it asked, referring to Blair's support for US President George W. Bush.

The "liar Tony Blair" faces the same fate as former British premier Anthony Eden, "who lied to the British and claimed (former Egyptian president) Gamal Abdel Nasser was a threat to the region and he must be overthrown," it said.

"Eden suffered the same fate as any liar. He was forced to resign" over the war that Britain, France and Israel launched over Nasser's nationalization of the Suez canal in 1956, the newspaper said.

It warned that history was repeating itself.

"Voices are rising everywhere in Britain demanding the resignation of Blair, who has not escaped humiliation, disparagement, and mortification" at his press conference in Japan, when he was questioned about Kelly's death.

Al Akhbar said Bush "could suffer the same fate" for having tried to "twist" the truth by using the issue of weapons of mass destruction to justify the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

Al Ahram, another government daily, said "David Kelly's mysterious death has created a veritable crisis in Britain and fed suspicions about his possible murder to punish him" for giving information to the BBC which helped reveal "the falsification committed by the British government".

Al Ahram said the case required British public opinion "to deal more carefully with accusations brought against countries such as Syria, or others".

In Tokyo, when asked at a press conference Saturday with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi whether he had "blood on his hands" and might resign, Blair only stared straight ahead and remained speechless.

In Britain, major newspapers Saturday rounded on Blair, accusing his government of using Kelly as a scapegoat and a diversion from the real question of why Iraqi weapons of mass destruction had yet to be found.

WAR.WIRE