Battle looms on 90-day detention

Last year the Tories, Lib Dems and 49 Labour rebels rejected the plans.

But Gordon Brown is backing calls for longer detention for terror suspects, and new anti-terror laws are to be unveiled in this week's Queen's Speech.

Home Affairs Select Committee chairman John Denham said the issue should be scrutinised by an independent panel.

Civil rights fears

He told the BBC's World at One the government had a responsibility to ensure police had time to investigate cases properly, but also not to infringe civil liberties too much.

"I would say that if the government is now convinced by the evidence, they should subject it to the sort of independent scrutiny that the select committee called for," he said.

"And I think that if that happened, then Parliament would be inclined to support a change."

"Such a massive change in our fundamental freedoms should not be undertaken without compelling evidence"
David Davis
Shadow home secretary

The Home Office is preparing fresh anti-terror measures to be unveiled in the Queen's Speech - and there has been speculation it may include an attempt to reintroduce the 90-day limit.

Police say gathering evidence from computer hard-drives, mobile phone records and the various fake identities suspects might have means they need more time.

But critics say a person has the right to freedom until charged with a crime.

'Extremely useful'

Crown Prosecution Service chief Ken Macdonald has told the BBC the 28-day limit, which replaced the old 14-day limit as a compromise after MPs rejected the 90-day limit, had proved "extremely useful".

He said "reviews should take place all the time" and as long as there was evidence to support a longer limit and judges were in control he said there was "no difficulty with it".

At the weekend Sir Ian Blair, the UK's most senior policeman, said the limit needed to be reviewed in the near future.

His call was supported by the Chancellor Gordon Brown, who said he "completely agreed" with Sir Ian, saying that protecting the UK from terrorism would be his "first priority" if he became prime minister when Tony Blair steps down.

For the Conservatives, who opposed the 90-day limit in the Commons, shadow home secretary David Davis warned that extending detention without trial could "hinder, not help, the struggle against terror".

Writing in the Evening Standard he said: "Such a massive change in our fundamental freedoms should not be undertaken without compelling evidence that it will materially improve our security. So far this has been entirely absent."

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg told the BBC he had seen figures suggesting police rarely need to detain terrorist suspects for 28 days, let alone longer.

"Just because we have reasoned arguments about the need to have evidence before you change the law doesn't mean that somehow we don't take the threat of terrorism very, very seriously," he said.

But he added he thought some of last year's Labour rebels might be browbeaten into line by the "fairly bullish and relentless" efforts of Home Secretary John Reid.

The Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust warned on Monday that the government's counter-terrorism strategy risked being submerged by party political interests.

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