Blair Admits to Cabinet Splits over His Support for Bush on Israel

Beginning of article

Battered by criticism, Tony Blair last night prepared for a holiday, leaving behind a cabinet torn by dissent, a party in turmoil, and a country dismayed by his handling of the Middle East crisis.

The Prime Minister robustly defended his decision to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with President George Bush in refusing to call for a ceasefire while Lebanon burns. His defence came amid claims in the New Statesman that there was a conspiracy between the US, Israel and Britain to launch a war on Lebanon.

Speaking at his monthly press conference, he said that events in Lebanon had to be seen as part of a wider picture and that a stand had to be made against the "arc of …