Speaking in Portsmouth, Mr Howard said: "I am accepting what the prime minister told us at face value. He said he never knew, he never bothered to ask this question.
"If I were prime minister and I had failed to ask that basic question before committing our country to war I would be seriously considering my position."
Mr Howard's comments shift the debate over the pre-war intelligence about WMD from questions about Mr Blair's integrity to ones about his competence.
Read the Guardian article "Howard: Blair Should Resign Over WMD Claim" in its entirety here.
The pressure facing Blair will translate into pressure for Bush at home. And the rejuvinated controversy about Bush being AWOL during his service time this week can only add to the pressure.
