Personally I don't want to live where my bag is going to get searched everytime I come near other people and everywhere I go is recorded on CCTV. I understand there is a vague threat of terrorism somewhere but isn't this exactly what they want.

Once again the government has proven it is entirely useless at dealing with serious issues (although it is not so good with non-serious issues either, and then there are the issues I am sure they just make up to cover mistakes). Let's get rid before more damage is done.

Sally, Newcastle, England

Even at the height of the IRA bombing campaign that targeted railways we didn't have this insane idea of baggage checks at stations. Britain has gone the way of American in the belief that if you have a physical presence then all will be safe. Scare the public and you'll forgive any excuse in the "war on terror" including the removal of the last vestiges of freedom.

Britains are the most watched and spied on in the world and now you will have to detail what you carry around with you? I can't wait to see the queues at commuter times!

I'm so glad I left the country for one not quite so intent on self destruction and one that is far enough from anywhere that noone bothers with it :-)

jce, Sunshine Coast, Australia

"travellers may also have to provide up to 53 separate pieces of information ... to the Home Office under the electronic borders scheme" - interesting parallel to Germany in the 1930s where Germans outside of the elite had to provide the State with details of their family tree going back 3+ generation, with details such as eye & hair colour - this was a prelude to the Nazis' pogrom against the Jews.

A police state anyone ?

Nick, Warwick,

Is it just me or does it seem like we are becoming an increasingly herded group? Has our official language been reduced to bleating acquiescence? Were are the protests? Were are the newspaper editors actually forming and making a noise about this issue? Why is the 4th Estate being derelict in its duty to help the citizens have a voice? A straw poll - the Mail shows 74% of the voters are against these measures.

Whatever happened to our freedoms? It was Remembrance Day on Sunday, we wore our poppies but we forgot what those men we mourned actually died for. This was NOT it, that much I can tell you. I think our proud soldiers would be mortified if they knew what has been done with the freedoms they dies to protect.

We have become afraid of our own shadows, turned against ourselves, made to compete and to distrust, to rat out and complain against. This is our "great" nation? This is what we stand for? We are our own worst enemy, and the government is exploiting that for its own ends.

gareth, Ipswich,

HAS THE WHOLE WORLD GONE MAD OR JUST THE
BTITISH PARLIMENT,IVE lived in the UK for 54 years and
never felt threatened or scared , is it me as terry would say.

george william taylor, hull, uk

Then it will be screening of bags before you get on the bus, and then a system for screening us before we get into our cars.........leave the house.........get out of bed, ad nauseum. Hasn't the government realised that we can only cope with so many scare stories in one go, we've got bird flu and bluetongue at the moment, they should have saved this one for Christmas.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

Statistics don't come into this. If I slip in the tub it's my own fault. If I get blown up on a bus or train, it's because an imbecile decided they had the right to murder me to secure a harem of virgins in heaven.

If these measures manage to discourage even a single detonation and prevent loss of life they are worth it.

Don, London,

Of course they've won. They've been in power for ten years.....

Oh, you mean *that* type of terrorism...


Falanx

Falanx, Birmingham,

Well lets just let the terrorists win then shall we? Though I'm not sure who the real terrorists are al Qaeda seem incompetent compared with how the IRA was, and it seems mainly to be the government doing the scare mongering anyway.

And why bother screening bags everywhere, there will always be a way round it. If you want to set off a bomb in a 'secured' station, one would only need to go to a normal station, and get in that way.

It seems faith in the government should be unquestioning. Lets hope people don't let them have that situation. Oh, too late.
Maybe this sums it up:
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

Ben Franklin

C. Bramham, Sheffield, England

Unemployment figures must be set to rise else why else would Government be resorting to double the size of the security recruitment requirements......I can just see terrorists hijacking a train and driving it into the Houses of Parliament!! Oh, Gordon, if they wanted to blow a train up, why get on one, surely you would just blow up the track underneath....now there is an idea for yet more public servants...one more man to guard every 100 metres of track.....sorry all a load of rubbish and political gesturing

Tony, Biarritz, France

"But despite the Prime Minister’s announcement, the Department for Transport (DfT) said last night that there were no plans to install security scanners or other equipment at rail stations permanently."

That sounds correct...not 'permanently', they'll be removed as soon as British troops completely pull out from Iraq and Afghanistan. (when oil starts flowing)

Mohammed, London, UK

Oh Lord, what is happening to dear old Britain. I have been an expat, on the continent of Europe, for 18 years now. I used to think that I would "of course" return to Britain to retire (if not sooner), but this kind of announcement means I have all but abandoned any hope of returning. Compared to a number of European states, the health service offers disgracefully little (I have experience of it through helping to look after aged relatives), public transport is an expensive shambles, and yet... and yet, British politicians spend, and spend and spend for security and checking and searching, soon for ID cards, and databases, and soon to implement very proscriptive policies given the obsession with carbon this and carbon that. Priorities are all wrong, IMHO, and to my mind mean the gradual demise of much that was to be respected in dear old Blighty. Where did good ol' British common sense, a sense of proportion go? "Fortress Britain" indeed, what rot!

paul, the hague, nl

The day airport security stole my toothpaste was the day I realised Al Quaida was winning. Today I realise that we have surrendered.

I predict in two years we'll be going through airport security naked ( rather than just unshod with droopy trousers) and stations will be the safest places in the world - as everyone wil be queueing outside.

Pete, Edinburgh,

If anyone ever had any doubts that this goverment has reached its nadir then they should be quashed now. You couldn't make this nonsense up. These fools have to go !

desperate, Everywhere, madness, UK.

Er, is this 1984?

Michael , Hove, UK

"Restrictions on liquids and cabin luggage size will remain in place."

And yet you will still be able to buy glass bottles in duty free once you're past the security scans. They make good weapons, glass bottles do. All the extra security measures are therefore rendered utterly pointless.

As Guy Thompson says, it's all about spreading fear.

Ed W, London,

The only alarm amongst the public, Mr Brown, is that by the time you are ousted from your unelected office, Britain will be a military dictatorship.

Why not take the money that you've found for this, and the money being spent on the Olympics and give it to Old Age Pensioners instead?

J. Wilkes, Gloucester,

I'm with Guy Thompson on this one.

This does seem somewhat ridiculous. This government wants us to live in fear of going out so why stop at railway stations, why not screen every car joining a motorway, every pedestrian walking along Oxford Street, and so on.

Given that the government is into mindgames, what is the government doing about stopping research into teleportation devices. Imagine the anarchy when bombs magically materialise from nowhere.

Martin Andrews, Berks, England

So who feels more secure? All these measures will do is make our lives even more unbearable. Also these additional security measures do not work. Look at all the security measures they had in Ireland yet it never stopped the bombing (and they had police and soldiers guarding the check points - not illegal immigrants!)

Barry, London,

Adrian Wilkinson - You relocated your business without understanding why?

Ed W, London,

I hope Gordon Brown is prepared for people to sue for "wrongful arrest" if stopped when about their legal business, and assault if they were body searched? Is he aware that obviously the targets would be young Asian men so they could sue for racial discrimination?
Instead of setting up "Twin Faith Schools " how about taking religion out of schools? After all, we Pagans are not allowed to have our children taught about our Faith in school, and we were in the UK long before the imported Eastern religions including Christianity.
QUOTE " travellers may also have to provide up to 53 separate pieces of information, including their e-mail, billing address, and contact numbers". That's simply overcome. Deny you have an email address, or give a "spare" one with innoccuous stuff from Auntie Maud. Use a cheap non registered PAYG mobile, and give them Aunt Maud's phone number. She would love to chat for hours about nothing.

Beryl, WINDSOR, England

More Stalinist control-freakery from our Dear Leader, gutless Gordon.

I don't know where his 'moral compass' is pointing; it does seem to be in the direction of North Korea judging by these measures.

No doubt it is all part of the master plan to force ID cards on England ( but not Scotland, of course )

Rick, London, England

Is this realy what we have come to? A flock of sheep like our cousins across the pond, giving up everything for the sake of imaginary dangers from we know not what?

We had decades of IRA bombings which didn't attract this level of stupidity. Why now? (Rhetorical question.)

The nannying and manipulation by this government is so blatant. Being a bunch of incompetents and 'not fit for purpose' themselves they believe the rest of the country is the same.

This is an American import and, like so many others, one we can well do without.

John Annis, London,

Great News for police persons families if its true and not just spin. Police die in railway bombing.
Its time to stop it at source and before they enter UK.

Peter, Hastings, UK

Simply bloody ridiculous.

Paul Betteridge, LLANELLI, Wales

The ultimate aim of terrorism is to turn a society against its own authorities. It is a surprisingly effective strategy in that homeopathic levels of realised (not potential) terrorist activity can provoke a seismic response. The probability of a UK national dying in a terrorist attack on UK soil in any year is many millions to one (probably of a similar order to airline deaths). Of course we are told that the threat is huge and that our security services are constantly saving us from catastrophic attacks. When terrorists exist within a free society, and their goal is to bomb the public going about their day to day business, the best security agencies in the world could not hope to prevent even 90% of planned attacks. Wake up Britain! The facts of the matter do not support the rhetoric. One can't start to imagine where the national obsession with terror, and the governments sweeping measures will take us.

Archie J Coombs, Nottingham, UK

Well, if this is not going to get you out of your car, and onto the railway, nothing will.

Only a few steps away from the tattoo on the arm.

I'm scared, very scared, of the way this government is taking this country.

Arthur, Newcastle,

There is no amount of "Fortress Britain" protective measures that will guarantee protection against terrorist attacks. At the same time, each measure will continue to erode our freedom of movement, behaviour, privacy and our open society.

Far better, then, to concentrate investment on

1)education, aid and cultural programmes that are designed to discourage the dissaffection and alienation that provide terrorist organisations with their disposable cannon-fodder,and

2)Intelligence, using international cooperation to identify and blockade known extremists from building and funding their organisations beyond legitimate excercise of free speach.

John Watson, London, England

I liked Jonathan's (Coventry) comment, it made me laugh out loud, but in a way he's completely right. Britz will march through the streets when it's too late or when they're financially effected. Remember Mrs Thatcher's poll tax and the petrol crisis - eight days that shook Britain? Anything else we just don't wana know. More people in Britain die from slipping out of thier bathrooms then terrorist attacks. Where is the war on bathrooms?

Mohammed, London, UK

The practicalities of treating large railway stations, that have thousands of people leaving and entering every minute, in the same way as airports is laughable. Even if each person was held up for just 30 seconds, there would be queues a mile long outside every door. For the security to be as good as Brown wants, you would have to search not only every passenger walking into the station, but also every passenger travelling in on trains. Therefore you would need checks at every station in the country.

People are going to have to arrive hours before every rail journey so they can 'check in'. The daily commute is going to stretch to absurd times.

Wouldn't the money and effort be better spent on not trying to invade and control Arab countries? Or is the spectre of terrorism the best way for the Government to do what it wishes?

Tom, Exeter, UK

The government has allowed immigration of, potentially, thousands of terrorists from the middle east and parts of Asia. It has harboured Islamic jihadists under the asylum blanket for years. We cannot get rid of them due to the absolute stupidity of our legal system, yet we still allow free people movement to and from countries known to export violence in the name of Islam. We allow them to continually settle here and work in sensitive institutions and preach their hatred of us to a gullible audience of muslim youths dissaffected by their unemployability and failure to integrate caused entirely by failures in their own belief system.
Lets face it there would be none of this security if there were no muslims in our country yet we still pander to the most extreme elements within their community. The extreme elements are growing because we do nothing.
This is the price we pay for allowing Islam to freely subvert the West.

David Thijm, Storubridge, UK

Isn't this just an excuse to up train fares? Already they are ridiculously overpriced.

In a surveillance society, ordinary citizens are hassled, taxed and scrutinised unfairly, stripped of civil liberties... Meanwhile criminal networks continue to operate further and further undeground, undetected by the system.

People involved in organised crime are always one step ahead. Remember the guy who was caught recently for successfully forging over £2 in banknotes despite all those measures in recent decades to make forgery foolproof? Likewise, creat e-checks on passengers and those with something to hide will find a way to travel under false identities.

NH, London, UK

Yes, the beardo's have won!
Sad day, the death of democracy.

jondi saka, London,

I'm so glad I left the UK!

omaira, Athens, Greece

I'm wating for the curfews to start and government troops with the cattle prods on each corner!! You will be a 'good' citizen in this new utopia!

By writing this I've probably already been registered as an enemy of the state.....they'll have items of my being filed in little glass bottles, ready for the sniffer dogs....

Why aren't we marching through the streets to protest these ridiculous measures? I don't know about you but I'm sick of dodging the car bombers each morning on the way to work. I'm always late!

And as for those door to door, fantatical preachers knocking on my door every night trying to convert me to their subversive religion, not Islamic, thats just the local catholics!

Go back to sleep Britain...nothing to see here...if anyone's interested, there's loads of planes, trains and ferry's leaving
the island every night, you can book yourself a one way ticket, its really easy, on the internet and everything!

I'm off!!

Jonathan, Coventry, UK

All this to prevent the rivers of blood forecast by Enoch Powel

J F W, Stone, England

The Customs and Excise, despite their unpleasantness to ordinary travellers have totally failed to stop the inflow of Guns and drugs to Britain.
The Government have failed completely in their efforts to monitor and control illegal immigration.
The government have failed to detect employment by their own security agencies 10,000 illegal immigrants as security guards
The government has said "Terrorists will not change the British way of life"
These latest proposals are not only doomed to achieve nothing, except a police state and are the realisation of the nightmare of Orwells "1984"

david bernard, nivllac, france

Welcome to the Fascist / Stalinist state

M Price, Manchester, UK

So now as a air traveller I have to work out if my airport has a 'one bag rule' exemption or not, and if one has and one hasn't then the ban has NOT been lifted.

Another brilliant idea from HMG - the circus rolls on featuring the Great Gordon and Remarkable Ruth - both clowns!

As a business centre the UK is doomed! No sane businessman is going to travel by air to or in the UK with such daft rules.

I understand now why I relocated my business to mainland Europe.

Adrian Wilkinson, Malaga, Spain

I'm with Guy Thompson. This is a blatant attempt by the prime minister to distract attention from his dismal performance by promoting fear with little regard to the fact that he is playing directly into the hands of those who would promote their policies through terror. Are we sure Brown is really a Scot? His willingness to collaborate with terrorists has something, well, French about it.

Ellyssa, Brighton,

There are camera's on every corner. Now searches where ever crowds gather? I find it all disturbingly intrusive and the justification questionable.

AndyN, Reading,

We want "intelligent" security measures not this nonsense! How absurd.

Farrukh, Woking, UK

I dont want to live in a fortress

Gary, Manchester,

And the screening of every commuters bag, onto every railway station concourse, every single day, is going to be handled by who?

The 5,000+ illegals who Home Office only yesterday admitted had been incorrectly cleared to work in security?

Sounds great to me, yup, will work a treat. Good work Gordo, any more bright ideas?

Mark Bullen, Kiama Downs, NSW Aus

Classic FUD spreading - Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt. Yet more drip fed propaganda that Goebels would have been proud of. Yet more insuation about the threat from Islamic radicalism rather than a couple of disenfranchised teaching assistants. The 'if you only knew what I know' argument in the background use to justify all sorts of idiotic measures. Shame on you as an organisation for publishing this unquestioning rubbish. There was a time when journalism was more than cut and pasting government press releases.

Guy Thompson, Salisbury, UK

Your home page headline either has a glaring grammatical error or a give away about what the government really wants.
You state that 'anti-car bomb' action will be taken - does this mean that the government has endorsed the anti car agenda?

Andy Watson, Ramsgate, England

The terrorists have won.

John, London,