Britain and the US said last night it was clear that Saddam Hussein was continuing to hide his banned weapons programmes after UN inspectors delivered their keenly-awaited progress report.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw accused the Iraqi dictator of reducing the inspections process to a "charade" while the US said there had been a "clear violation" of UN Security Council resolutions.

The chief UN inspector, Hans Blix, told the Security Council in New York that his teams were still not receiving adequate co-operation from the Iraqis.

Large quantities of missiles and deadly biological and chemical agents - including anthrax and VX nerve gas - had still not been properly accounted for by the Baghdad regime.

But, despite the growing impatience in Washington and London, there were signs that both capitals would wait for a second report from the inspectors - due on February 14 - before any move towards military action.

Dr Blix told the Security Council that while the inspectors had generally received free access to sites in Iraq, they were still not getting the level of co-operation they needed.

Iraqi scientists were still refusing to speak to the inspectors without a minder present and they had not received the documentation needed to verify Iraqi claims to have destroyed old weapons programmes.

He said that Iraq's 12,000-page weapons declaration to the Security Council on December 7 had failed to address many of the outstanding issues raised in reports by the old inspection teams before they were forced to leave in 1998.

"It is not enough to open doors. Inspection is not a game of catch-as-catch-can," he said.

In contrast to Dr Blix, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency - the UN body conducting the hunt for nuclear weapons - made a direct appeal to the Security Council for more time for the inspectors to do their work.

Mohamed ElBaradei said that they had so far found no evidence that Iraq had tried to revive its old nuclear weapons programme but would need "several months" to be sure.

"Our work is steadily progressing and should be allowed to run its natural course," he said.

Britain's ambassador to the UN, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, welcomed the prospect of a second report from the inspectors on February 14, but there was little sign that London or Washington would be prepared to hold off much longer.

Mr Straw, attending a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, accused Saddam Hussein of "practising concealment".

"There is clear evidence now that he has made this a charade of an inspection, co-operating on process but not on substance," said Mr Straw.

Last night, Ashok Kumar, MP for South Middlesbrough and East Cleveland, said he believed military action against Iraq had become inevitable.

"Saddam Hussein has not complied with UN resolutions. The man is dishonest, and he is working to his own agenda."

But Frank Cook, MP for Stockton North, said he did not believe military action against Iraq was justified at the moment.

"There is no smoking gun. The only weapons that Saddam might have had is weapons that we and the US supplied him years ago."