Tony Blair today vowed to bring down the Taliban regime in Afghanistan unless it handed over terror warlord Osama bin Laden.

In a powerful and emotional speech, the Prime Minister told the Labour party conference in Brighton that the Taliban had a stark choice - surrender the terrorists or surrender power.

He also indicated military action against Afghanistan was imminent, stating the dangers of inaction were too great.

Mr Blair told delegates in Brighton: "Be in no doubt, bin Laden and his people originated this atrocity. The Taliban aided and abetted him.

"He will not desist from further acts of terror. They will not stop helping him.

"Whatever the dangers of the action we take, the dangers of inaction are far, far greater."

Mr Blair said: "I say to the Taliban: Surrender the terrorists or surrender power. The choice is yours."

The Prime Minister, who wrote his speech himself in one night, said there could be no doubt the war against terrorism was just.

He acknowledged people were anxious about what might lie ahead and promised the action would be "proportionate and targeted", with everything possible done to avoid civilian casualties.

It would be directed at the military installations and training camps of bin Laden and the Taliban troops, supplies and finances, he said.

Mr Blair also promised the humanitarian response to the growing refugee crisis in Afghanistan would be every bit as well planned and thorough as the military response.

The Prime Minister said of the Taliban regime: "No art or culture is permitted. All other faiths, all other interpretations of Islam are ruthlessly suppressed.

"Those who practise their faith are imprisoned. Women are treated in a way almost too revolting to be credible."

Mr Blair went on: "We haven't lashed out. No missiles on the first night just for effect. Don't kill innocent people.

"We are not the ones who waged war on the innocent. We seek the guilty."

In a speech this morning, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw paved the way for Mr Blair's effective announcement of war.

He said: "In the 1930s, there were those who made the fundamental mistake of believing the fascists could be reasoned with - that they were subject to the same standards of human decency as the rest of us.

"In the same way today, if we believe those who planned the attacks in the US can be dealt with by negotiation and reason, we wholly delude ourselves.

"To fight the terrorists, we need to deploy every weapon - military, diplomatic, economic, political - undermine its roots, to stifle its support, to target its funding, and to remove its lethal machinery."

He added: "Our challenge is to harness this spirit of co-operation to build a safer, more inclusive world, which confronts global issues like poverty, conflict and the environment."

A senior union leader added his own strong message of support for military action against terrorists.

Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union general secretary Sir Ken Jackson said the time for talking was over and military action was now the "right decision".

Mr Blair was expected to return to London tonight to resume talks with world leaders about the international crisis.