Profoundly undemocratic; a nonsense; an outrage; a disgrace. All sides of the House of Commons were united yesterday in condemning the farcical proceedings in which the Government tried to rush through the committee stage and third reading of the Prevention of Terrorism Bill in a single day, and not just to rush it through in a straightforward manner. No: ministers, fearful of losing the vote in the Commons, let alone the Lords, first let it be known through the media that a letter had been written to all MPs explaining the Government’s Bill.

In a second letter, Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, then proposed fundamental changes to the Bill, leaving MPs completely confused about the Government’s intentions. And understandably so: for ministers intended to table amendments in the Lords which would fundamentally change key elements of the Bill — yet they expected MPs to take these proposed future changes into account when voting in the Commons last night.

This casual and arrogant dismissal of proper parliamentary process brought the Commons to near-chaos yesterday afternoon. Mr Clarke initially left it to one of his ministers, Hazel Blears, to defend the Government’s actions, as angry speeches from all sides demanded that Mr Clarke and Peter Hain, the Leader of the House, explain the Government’s plans. The Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman was wrong to describe it as “Parliament at its worst”. It was Parliament at its best: in passionate and often angry defence of the basic freedoms of the United Kingdom and the right of MPs to protect those liberties.

The passage of this Bill has shown the Government at its worst. Ministers have attempted to play fast and loose not just with the fundamental tenets of British law but with the processes designed to ensure that Parliament upholds them. Ministers have hurled accusations of opportunism at Michael Howard but the Conservative leader has acted sensibly in opposing attempts to railroad this Bill through Parliament under dark threats of imminent terrorist attack.

Only yesterday, Mr Blair suddenly announced on Woman’s Hour that “there are several hundred of them in this country who we believe are engaged in plotting or trying to commit terrorist acts”. That there is a real threat was highlighted yesterday when a 25-year-old former grammar school boy admitted to plotting to destroy a passenger jet.

Yet the almost macho attempts to force through controversial legislation, which would have allowed a politician to put suspects under house arrest without judicial approval, revealed a government content to trample on democratic process.

Mr Clarke offered a messy compromise yesterday: that it should be a judge and not himself who takes the decision, within two days of an ex parte application from the Home Secretary. The police will be given new powers to arrest and detain a suspect pending the judge’s decision, if necessary. This left MPs voting on measures that Mr Clarke had already declared redundant — the Government, not Mr Howard, has been opportunistic. The danger of terrorist attack is real and present, but the pre- election posturing of a supposedly tough government has left it and democracy weakened.