EAST Lancashire's Iraq war rebel Gordon Prentice today explained his rebuff for Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The Pendle MP was one of 56 Labour back benchers to defy the Prime Minister in Tuesday's debate on the issue.

Mr Prentice was caught in a major rail delay on his way to Westminster for the debate.

As a result he read the 50-page government dossier outlining the threat posed by Saddam Hussain and his weapons of mass destruction just minutes before the debate started.

Mr Prentice is a member of the Parliamentary Labour Party's backbench committee which meets Mr Blair on a regular basis.

After Foreign Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw had opened the debate on Iraq following the Prime Minister's statement on the dossier, Mr Prentice met Mr Blair at his Westminster office.

He said: "I didn't see anything in the document to show the need to go to war with Iraq. There was no suggestion that Saddam's weapons of mass destruction could target the US or the UK.

"I have not a single good word to say for Saddam Hussain nor did anybody else.

"But I wanted to see a substantive vote on military action against Iraq in the House of Commons. We did not get that which is why I was one of 56 Labour MPs who voted against the technical motion on the adjournment at the Commons to register my protest.

"That's roughly a quarter of the Parliamentary Labour Party.

"I made clear to the Prime Minister my unhappiness at the prospect of military action against Iraq. We need weapons inspectors to go back and UN approval for the use of force if they report back that they are being impeded.

"We don't want unilateral action as the US appears to want and we don't want British troops committed to battle without a vote at the House of Commons and UN approval.

"I believe the containment of Saddam Hussain has succeeded."