Lining up behind White House's major gamble

But veteran Labour backbenchers criticised the air strikes, saying the United Nations should have been consulted before any assault was launched.

The Prime Minister was informed in advance about the attacks and gave his ''strong support'' to President Clinton. ''Terrorists the world over must know that democratic governments will act decisively to prevent their evil crimes,'' Mr Blair said.

Speaking from France, where he is on holiday, Mr Blair added: ''The atrocities this month in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Omagh have shown the pain and suffering terrorism can bring to innocent people.''

Shadow Foreign Secretary Michael Howard gave Tory backing to the American attack.

''These terrorists are enemies of humanity. I do not think they should be given a free run,'' Mr Howard told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

''International terrorism is one of the greatest dangers to mankind. It's barely a fortnight since we saw the agony of the victims of those attacks in Kenya and Tanzania, with hundreds of innocent victims.''

Labour Action for Peace, an organisation backed by a number of left-wing Labour MPs, sent a strongly- worded statement to the Foreign Secretary, criticising the Government's support for the missile strikes.

The statement, sent by Mr Frank Allaun, the group's president, said: ''If the Arab nations respond to America's release without warning of cruise missiles against Afghanistan and the Sudan from a submarine and warships, it is possible they will respond by bombing raids on cities in America and its allies.

''In that case it could mean the beginning of World War Three.

''We condemn terrorists, but believe that military raids on their countries are more likely to provoke terrorism than to prevent it. We condemn the military action by both sides.

''We have asked the Foreign Secretary to seek the immediate recall of the United Nations Security and General Councils and that the UK should act as conciliator rather than as a partisan of one side.''

Members of the group include left-wingers such as Ken Livingstone, Alice Mahon, Tony Benn, Ann Clwyd, Audrey Wise, Tam Dalyell, Jeremy Corbyn, and Harry Cohen.

Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell said the reported deaths caused by the US action were regrettable but unavoidable.

''Of course the loss of human life is something that one regrets very substantially.

''But just remember, this chemical factory has been placed very close to a residential area. That is traditionally what has been done by people who are manufacturing chemicals of this kind.

''They do that to try to inhibit any effort like the one the US has just carried through and to provide some kind of disguise as to precisely what is taking place there,'' he added.

Later, Mr Campbell warned Tony Blair against giving the United States ''a blank cheque'' for future attacks.

''On the information now available, the United States was justified in seeking to protect itself from further terrorist attack,'' he said.

But ''any future operations will only be legitimate if they can be justified against four necessary tests:

''Is the action legal in international law? Is the degree of force proportionate? Is the action supported by available intelligence information? And is every effort being made to avoid civilian casualties?''

There was criticism from the Labour backbenches.

Former Cabinet minister Tony Benn has written to Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, demanding to know whether the American troops involved could be brought before the proposed International War Crimes Tribunal, which is backed by the Government.

''It is a totally cynical and unprincipled move because it is a defiance of international law.

''It's the law of the jungle, what we used to call gun boat diplomacy in the days of the British empire,'' he told Today.

Mr George Galloway, Labour MP for Glasgow Kelvin, told ITN: ''It was a cowardly act, actually, just as cowardly as the maniacs who put the bombs outside the US embassies and killed all those people earlier this month.

''You press a button, you send a cruise missile, you don't risk any of your own personnel, and you don't really care who you kill.''

Mr Tam Dalyell, Labour MP for Linlithgow, expressed the ''deepest concern about the seemingly automatic endorsement of President Clinton's actions'' by the Prime Minister.

''Obviously there is the question why now, and the strong view that before bombing Khartoum this should have been taken to the United Nations,'' he said.

An innocent pharmaceutical factory or a plant for making chemical weapons? Rescue workers sift through the debris of the site in Khartoum which was devastated by an American air attack. Picture: SUDAN TELEVISION