Senior ministers rallied round Tony Blair yesterday in an attempt to bury speculation over threats to his leadership ahead of a tough week, which will put Iraq back at the top of Britain's political agenda.

　　The next five days will help set the backdrop for the next election, expected in 2005, with a report into intelligence failings over Iraq's weaponry, two closely watched by-elections and the unveiling of the government's three-year spending plans.

　　Blair's personal trust ratings were dented by the Iraq conflict. With ally US President George W. Bush also feeling the heat over the war, the Prime Minister is once again fighting off reports that he considered quitting.

　　"I think Blair's position is very strong, has always been strong, has never been under threat and that he will continue up to the election and beyond," said Cabinet member Charles Clarke.

　　But senior politicians acknowledged the government has been through an extremely challenging few months.

　　"I would not say for a moment that this has not been a very difficult episode," Health Secretary John Reid said.

　　"I think as they see power passing to the Iraqi people themselves, as they see the United Nations getting more engaged that some of that animosity, some of the distrust about our own motives is diminishing," he said.

　　Analysts say the worst might be over, but as long as British soldiers remain in Iraq, the issue will continue to dog Blair.

　　The government is keen to shift public attention to domestic issues including schools and the hospitals.

　　But Wednesday's Butler report into the use of evidence on Iraq's banned weapons could still cause damage.

　　"It is unlikely that next week will be make or break for Blair but if it goes badly it could spark a sequence of events that could make things very difficult," said John Curtice, Professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde.

　　The Butler report comes less than a week after a scathing US Senate Committee report that said US spy agencies overstated the threat of Iraqi weapons, relied on dubious sources and ignored contrary evidence before the war.

　　Former deputy chief of defense intelligence John Morrison will say in a BBC TV program yesterday the prime minister went "way beyond anything any professional analyst would have agreed" by saying Saddam Hussein posed a serious threat.

　　But yesterday newspapers said Blair's spy chief and closest aides are set to bear the brunt of criticism in the report.

　　(Reuters)