TONY Blair already had quite a headache over the prospect of military action against Iraq.

Worried Labour backbenchers have been beating a path to his door for weeks to warn against an attack on Saddam Hussein.

Then the horrendous bomb blast in Bali, which killed almost 200 people, led to accusations he had taken his "eye off the ball" and should re-focus on the war against terror - not Iraq.

Now the Prime Minister's problems have become even worse - after the Bishop of Hereford, Rt Rev John Oliver, and the Bishop of Worcester, Rt Rev Peter Selby, stepped into the debate.

They are members of the House of Bishops, which has sent its views to an inquiry on Iraq being carried out by the Commons Foreign Affairs select committee.

The submission will have Mr Blair facing more soul-searching.

It says military action against Saddam at the present time would "lower the threshold for war" unacceptably and cause "immense suffering".

And it also urges Mr Blair to continue to pursue "all available peaceful means" to resolve the crisis through the authority of the United Nations.

The submission says: "Conclusive evidence is lacking of an imminent and specific threat from Iraq to international peace and security. In such circumstances, military action cannot be justified at this time."

The powerful anti-war case put forward by the 54-strong House is undoubtedly a blow to Mr Blair's hopes of persuading the British people that war might be necessary to curb Saddam.

The Prime Minister has backed President George Bush's insistence that a new UN resolution is needed which explicitly threatens Iraq with invasion.

During a visit to Russia last week, Mr Blair hinted that Britain would back a unilateral American attack if the UN refused to give its authorisation.

But the Bishops said a preventative war could only be waged with the lawful authority of a recognised international body - and that meant the UN.