NORTH-EAST veterans of the first Gulf War urged Allied troops to press on and finish the job last night.

* Eddie Blench, a founder member of the Gulf War Veterans Association and former corporal in the Desert Rats, said: "My thoughts go out to the lads. I would like to see this done and dusted quickly. It should have been finished 12 years ago.

"After being hyped up the way we were, a lot of people came back feeling they had not finished the job."

Mr Blench, who lives in Gateshead, added: "I am just anxious that Saddam is going to use his chemical weapons this time - not just in Iraq, but in Europe as well. Saddam Hussein is like a rat in a corner with nowhere to go."

* Another veteran, who asked not to be named, said: "They can do the job we set out to do in 1991. I feel sure everyone in the country will rally round now the shooting has started."

Those thoughts were echoed by the region's politicians.

* Derek Foster, Labour MP for Bishop Auckland, said: ''No one wanted this conflict but everyone wants it to be over with as quickly as possible with the minimum casualties."

A swift conflict must be followed by a monumental humanitarian effort to rebuild Iraq for the Iraqi people, he said.

* Durham North MP Kevan Jones, a member of the Defence Select Committee, said: ''These are extremely anxious times and it will be worse for the many service families in the North-East and North Yorkshire.

"Unfortunately, it is a responsibility that Britain and the US have had to take.''

* Anne McIntosh, MP for the Vale of York, said: "I very much regret that hostilities have commenced. Saddam's entrenched position has frustrated disarmament by peaceful and voluntary means, and made the need to disarm him by international force inevitable."

But not everyone was so sanguine about the use of force.

* A spokesman for Oxfam North-East said: "Oxfam believes military action against Iraq is unjustifiable at this moment because of concerns about civilian suffering and regional instability."

* Asian community leader and former chairman of Middlesbrough mosque, Mobeen Mehdi, said Britain had been led into war by the Americans.

"Tony Blair is just following Bush around. If the Americans wanted to get rid of Saddam Hussein, they could do it overnight - they have the intelligence.

"I don't see how the British have anything to do with the affairs of Iraq. Why should we sacrifice our lives and those of our soldiers by getting involved in someone else's war?

"Nobody has proved Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. I think it is very dangerous that the Prime Minister has put the public at large at risk.

"I'm not in favour of Saddam Hussein but I'm not in favour of war. It should not have taken place without a United Nation resolution.

"We have been let down by the politicians and we are going to war for other reasons, such as oil and the Americans who simply want supremacy."

Anti-war campaigners predicted the invasion would only add to regional instability and make the world a more dangerous place.

* A spokesman for the North-East Anti-War Coalition said: "If Tony Blair believes he has the support of the British people, he is sadly mistaken."

* The Bishop of Durham greeted news of the first wave of attacks with a "heavy heart". The Right Reverend Michael Turnbull said: "We must pray that the war will be swift and with the minimum of casualties, especially civilian.

"We must show our concern for the Iraqi people, especially the children there and work here at home for peaceable reactions between different parts of the communities of our great cities which contain people from many different cultural and national backgrounds."

He said he was sending a note to clergy to keep churches open wherever possible to allow people to go and pray. Clergy will also work with local schools to help children come to terms with the conflict.

* His thoughts were echoed by the Right Reverend John Packer, Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, who said he greeted the news with profound sadness.

"I have questioned whether this momentous course of action, without UN sanction, can achieve lasting peace and justice in the region," he said.

As well as praying for families with members in the conflict, he said: "We also urge Christians to pray for the safety of the innocent citizens of Iraq who will be caught up in the conflict. We are deeply concerned about the effect of the conflict on community relations here.

"We pray that dialogue and growing understanding between people of all faiths can be strengthened as together we work for peace.

20/03/2003