Blair attempts to end splits over war at home and abroad

Tony Blair promised yesterday that he would not indulge in triumphalism over the sudden fall of Baghdad, and warned that the war in Iraq was not over yet.

Privately, the Prime Minister feels vindicated by the rapid progress made by the Allied forces. But the mood was sombre rather than celebratory when the Cabinet met for its weekly session.

Mr Blair told his ministers: "The military job is not yet done. There are still areas in Baghdad where Saddam's people and members of the regime are located. We still don't know the fate or whereabouts of Saddam and his immediate inner circle."

Mr Blair's allies are starting to trumpet his success. Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, said: "His judgement and his courage have been shown to be right. Increasingly, the people of this country are coming round to the view that this is the right thing to do."

The Prime Minister has no intention of saying his anti-war critics were wrong. He hopes that adopting a conciliatory approach will help to bind the wounds left by the war, not least in the Labour Party.

Close colleagues insist Mr Blair is unfazed by the dramatic events of the past 48 hours. One said: "He regards the military campaign as only the first chapter of a very big book. There is reconstruction and humanitarian relief and making sure we leave Iraq a better place than we found it. Then there is the Middle East, relations between Europe and America and the future of the United Nations."

Mr Blair is determined to see a "reckoning" on the European Union's relationship with America and believes both sides must give ground to ensure they avoid a repeat of the schism over Iraq. Heturned down a request to attend a mini-summit in St Petersburg tomorrow with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany. He believes the meeting is premature: he wants to see whether the three anti-war countries are prepared to meet America halfway before he joins the post-war debate.

Cabinet ministers say the Prime Minister has never wavered. He did not allow the "media pendulum" to worry him, as good news in Iraq was followed by bad news. Between the full Cabinet's meeting on Wednesday morning and Gordon Brown's Budget statement at lunchtime, Mr Blair and his aides were glued to the television set in his office. Mr Blair returned after the Budget to watch, with millions of others, the symbolic fall of President Saddam's statue. The endgame had begun.