Approval for the way British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair and US President Mr George W. Bush are handling the war against terrorism has dropped sharply since the end of last year, according to an opinion poll published today.
The Mori poll for next week's Timemagazine also revealed the majority of Britons were against US military strikes on Iraq and against British involvement in such action.
Six months on from the September 11th terrorist attacks, Mr Blair's approval rating stands at 52 per cent, compared with 71 per cent in November when the international coalition was riding high with the liberation of Kabul from the Taliban.
President Bush's approval rating has seen a similar fall from 66 per cent in November to 50 per cent, the survey showed.
A total of 35 per cent of people believed the US Government would be right to order military action against Saddam Hussein's regime, while 52 per cent were against such a move.
The prospect of British involvement, which has outraged many Labour MPs, was welcomed by 34 per cent, while 56 per cent said it would be wrong.
A narrow majority however believed Britain's relationship with the US is "about right", while two in five people said Mr Blair's government was too supportive of the US.
Mori chairman Mr Bob Worcester said: "While the British strongly supported their Prime Minister's 'shoulder-to-shoulder' stance over Afghanistan last year, British public opinion is decidedly cooler about stepping up direct military action against Iraq."
- The poll was conducted last weekend among 1,003 adults across Britain.
PA
