BRITAIN: The British government's anti-terrorism policy was under mounting pressure last night after the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats opposed plans to replace detention powers with control orders imposing house arrest on terror suspects.
In a surprise development at Westminster, the Conservative leader, Mr Michael Howard, asked the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, to meet him to discuss alternative Tory proposals, after warning that the government was embarked upon "a dangerous path".
Arguing that "internment without trial creates martyrs" and could prove "a very effective recruiting sergeant" for terrorists, Mr Howard said the Conservatives would not support proposals for control orders to be issued by the Home Secretary.
It was wrong in principle for anyone to be deprived of their liberty "on the say-so of a politician" he said, signalling that the proposed Conservative alternative would hand judges and the courts the key role in the process.
The Liberal Democrat leader, Mr Charles Kennedy, joined Mr Howard in urging Mr Blair to think again about permitting the use of telephone-intercept evidence in the courts and to allow judges to prepare sensitive cases.
He said the government had a duty to defend its citizens and to uphold their fundamental rights.
The Home Secretary, Mr Charles Clarke, announced his plans last week for control orders - which would impose a range of restrictions on both British and foreign terror suspects in "extreme circumstances" - in response to the Law Lords' ruling that the present policy of detaining foreign suspects was discriminatory and unlawful.
He called for a national debate as he acknowledged the proposed move would mark a significant increase in the power of the state.
By yesterday afternoon in the Commons, however, government hopes for a bipartisan approach were receding, as Labour peers suggested Mr Clarke's proposals were also certain to face a rebellion in the House of Lords.
Mr Blair said he would be "perfectly happy" to meet Mr Howard to see if it would be possible to find other ways of dealing with terrorist suspects who could not be brought to trial. However he insisted "nothing must stand in the way of protecting the security of our people."
He told MPs: "What we are desperate to do is avoid a situation where, at a later point, people turn round and say 'if only you had been as vigilant as you should have been, we could have averted a terrorist attack'."
Unease about the government's overall approach has increased with the perceived unravelling of its present detention policy, most notably with the unconditional release on Monday night of an Egyptian suspect who had been held for three years without trial under the powers introduced by Mr David Blunkett in the aftermath of September 11th.