World leaders reject Blair's Neocon Preemption Doctrine

Tony Blair was rebuffed yesterday over attempts to give international backing to military action to topple the brutal leaders of failed states like Iraq.

A summit of 14 world leaders refused to endorse a joint statement which proposed waiving the legal ban on intervening in foreign states if governments failed to protect their citizens from repression or "state failure".

The argument over how to police the world's most unstable countries will dominate discussions about the future of the United Nations in the wake of the war in Iraq. Foreign Office officials have started work on proposals for reform, due to be launched by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, in the autumn, amid concern in Britain and America that the UN is unwieldy and unsuited to the challenges of the 21st century. Proposals being considered include expanding the permanent membership of the UN Security Council and streamlining the organisation's bureaucracy.