Britain should shun any mass-scale attack on Iraq which inflicts further suffering on civilians, International Development Secretary Clare Short insisted yesterday.

Accepting that Saddam Hussein's weapons programme is a major threat to international security and must be neutralised, Ms Short nevertheless argued for pressuring Baghdad into readmitting UN weapons inspectors, rather than military strikes.

Her remarks came as US Vice President Dick Cheney was flying to London for talks at Downing Street today with Tony Blair covering a range of security issues, including the threat posed by Saddam's weapons of mass destruction programme.

They also came as it was reported that the Pentagon has informed Congress it is planning for the possible use of nuclear weapons against countries that threaten the US, including Iraq - a policy shift some arms control experts say could make America more likely to use such weapons.

According to the reports, the other countries are China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Libya and Syria.

Mr Blair is under intense pressure from within Labour not to back any US military action against Iraq, identified by US President George W Bush as part of the "Axis of Evil" threatening international security.

On Friday, the Financial Times quoted an unnamed Government insider as saying there would be ministerial resignations if Mr Blair - who is due to hold talks with President Bush at his Texas ranch next month - backed a US attack.

There was speculation that Ms Short and Leader of the House of Commons Robin Cook harboured the deepest misgivings.

Yesterday, however, Ms Short said that failing to address the Iraqi issue "could bring a disaster to the world".

She said: "There's two questions here. The first question is, is Saddam Hussein determined to develop weapons of mass destruction including chemical and biological weapons? The answer is yes.

"Is he resisting UN inspection for that purpose? The answer is yes."

However, she went on: "But the assumption that some sort of all-out military attack is the answer to that, which is where the Press are, is of course not at all sensible."