Miliband sets out UK world view

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Foreign Secretary David Miliband says Gordon Brown's foreign policy of "hard-headed internationalism" would not have opposed the Iraq war.

In a major speech at the Lord Mayor of London's banquet, the prime minister used the phrase to sum up his approach to security, peacekeeping and aid.

Mr Miliband said it meant all these elements had to be used together.

He said the decision to invade Iraq, if not some decisions since, fitted in with such a policy.

In his first major foreign policy speech since becoming prime minister, Mr Brown said Britain's "most important" relationship is with the US.

'British values'

He warned that he had "no truck with anti-Americanism" and urged the EU to strengthen ties with the US. He also signalled support for the US stance on Iran's "nuclear ambitions".

He told the audience at Guildhall the UK had to work with "all those who share our vision of the future", including Nato, the UN, the EU and the US.

The more that we can do with international institutions, obviously, the more effective we are at utilising the relationships and partnerships that we have around the world, David Miliband

Mr Miliband told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Mr Brown's "hard-headed internationalism" meant the UK should "use all the tools at our disposal" to advance British values and interests across the world.

This included using the so-called "soft power" of diplomacy and trade, along with the "hard power" of military force.

"The more that we can do that with international institutions, obviously, the more effective we are at utilising the relationships and partnerships that we have around the world," he said.

"If we pose the choice of either you favour democracy or you favour security, in other words, either you favour aid programmes or you favour military action, you don't get it right.

"We have to use both. We have got to make sure we get progress for economic governance, political reform and security right.

"I think that's the heart of the message the prime minister was putting across."

'Could have done better'

Pressed on whether Mr Brown's "hard-headed internationalism" approach would have made a difference to the invasion of Iraq, Mr Miliband said: "We don't resile from the decisions that were made in respect of the Iraq war."

However, he added: "Over the last five years there have been decisions about the way in which political reform, economic stabilisation and the security has been taken forward, could have been done better.

"But no-one is resiling from the original decision."