Brown defiant on terror plan

Updated 22.43 Mon Jun 02 2008

Keywords: politics, terrorism, Gordon Brown

A defiant Gordon Brown has said he is determined to stick to his principles over plans to extend the time terrorist suspects can be held without charge.

The Prime Minister - who is facing a potential Commons defeat on the issue - told a Downing Street news conference security services were currently investigating 2,000 terrorist suspects involved in around 200 networks and 30 potential plots.

This month's vote comes at a more difficult time for Mr Brown after his embarrassing U-turn over the 10p tax row and a run of disastrous election results.

In the most recent case to come before the courts, he said police had to examine 400 separate computers, 8,000 discs and 25,000 exhibits.

He said: "The complexity and sophistication of investigations that now have to be conducted by the police, compared and contrasted with what was happening 10 years ago, make it inevitable that the police will need more time to conduct their investigations."

Mr Brown said he believed the safeguards were "commensurate" with the needs of national security.

"I have looked at the civil liberties issues and we have made and are making proposals about how we can protect people from arbitrary treatment, but I believe that this is right in the interests of the national security of the country."

Up to 50 Labour MPs are ready to vote against the plans but Home Secretary Jacqui Smith will ask them to support the anti-terror plans when she addresses the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) on Monday.

Mr Brown insisted that he would not be deflected from the plan in the face of the threat that rebel Labour MPs could combine with the opposition to inflict a damaging defeat on the Government.

He said: "I have tried to build consensus around our proposals but I am determined that we stick to our principles and that is that up to 42-days detention is and will be necessary in the future, but Parliament will make the final decision on the individual incident itself."

This month's vote comes at a more difficult time for Mr Brown after his embarrassing U-turn over the 10p tax row and a run of disastrous election results.