Britons urge government to stay away from U.S.

A majority of Britain's general public believe that the government should take a more robust and independent approach to the United States, said a Guardian/ICM poll published on Tuesday.

The telephone survey conducted on 1,001 adults finds strong public opposition to Prime Minister Tony Blair's close working relationship with U.S. President George W. Bush.

A total of 63 percent of those polled said Blair has tied Britain too closely to the United States.

A majority of Labour Party supporters think Blair has misjudged the relationship, with 54 percent saying Britain is too close to Washington.

Some 68 percent of Conservative Party supporters and 83 percent of Liberal Democrats supporters are even more critical.

In addition, the Britons are strongly critical of the scale of Israel's military operations in Lebanon, with 61 percent believing Israel has overreacted to the threats it faces, according to the poll.

Source: Xinhua