It was right for former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to be tried and that should be decided by the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people,British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Monday.

The Iraqi people have the capability of giving Saddam a fair trial and the coalition would work with them to keep the process going,Blair told the House of Commons,the lower house of the parliament.

It should be the Iraqis that would determine the penalties of Saddam,Blair told the lawmakers.

Briefing the parliament on the capture of Saddam,Blair said Saddam's rule in Iraq was now history and the coalition was working with the Iraqi people to build a new Iraq.

However,Blair,the staunchest US ally on Iraq,admitted that there was still a massive amount to do in Iraq.

Terrorists would not cease their attacks,Blair said,stressing that should be dealt with vigilance and dedication.

Earlier,Blair's official spokesman told reporters that although Saddam's capture was significant,"no one is naive enough to pretend this marks the end of attacks."

"There will be further setbacks.There will be further challenges,"the spokesman said.

He also told reporters that Britain would have to accept a possible decision by Iraqis to execute Saddam,despite Britain's opposition to the death penalty.

"Our position on the death penalty is that we do not support it.Were that to be the outcome,that would be something we would have to accept,"the spokesman said.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said that there was a "wide understanding"that trials of alleged war criminals should take place before a domestic court in the country concerned,rather than in front of an international tribunal,unless the former course of action was inappropriate or impossible.Enditem