Has anyone give any thought as to why Brown wants 42 days knowing that he is almost certainly going to be defeated?
The only answer that makes sense to me is cynical politicking of the worst kind.After the defeat he will be able to stand up in the house and say that Labour wanted more stringent controls but the opposition parties opposed them.
If you ask me there are far more important issues requiring Parlliament's attention than scoring political points to massage one mans ego.

Philip, Ipswich,

I suggest that the government should have its way, though with one proviso. If a suspect is held for 42 days or 90 days or whatever without trial and is subsequently freed, then five of the MPs who vote for this stupid legislation have to spend the same number of days locked up. If they're that convinced it's such a good idea I can't see any objections, though I sympathise that they won't be able to plunder their expense allowances during that time.

Dave, Slough,

I think we need a new motto for the country.. 'Guilty until proven otherwise'.

Arthur, Newcastle,

'We are victims of our own success' - the breathtaking arrogance of the 'senior Whitehall source' !

If we are successfully prosecuting people with the existing legislation then WE DON'T NEED ANY EXTENSION (sorry to shout.. ).

It just demonstrates the knee jerk reaction and lust for power of these people. They should be ashamed of what they are asking for because this is not about the need to combat terrorism but more their need to accumulate powers to themselves.

Tony, Cardiff,

over 4000 people died on our roads last year, 10,000 men died of prostrate cancer, 7,800 people commited suicide, 52 people died from terror attacks. We lived through the IRA without this hysteria and restriction of freedom, why must we have ID cards and ever greater detention without trial.

The risk to the UK from a small minority of sad social misfit fantasists is greatly exaggerated and so Brown and Smith have the opportunity to push the envelope a little more and remove more of out liberty.

If it were necesary then maybe i'd agree but

Matt, cardiff,

If Brown said the sky was blue I would vote against it. You cannot trust one iota of what he and his crumbly flakey Government says.

Roger, Surrey,

Given that heckling at a Labour Party conference is considered by the police to be worthy of arrest under anti-terrorist legislation, Brown's idea that the public should be imprisoned without charge for 42 days (by precedent, for simply criticising Labour) ought to be ringing alarm bells very loudly.

We didn't need 42 days' detention when the IRA were bombing Britain, and their bombs actually went off.

Mike, Brighton, England

nulabour the neo-nasty party

peter codner, devizes, england

The security services can find no reason for this legislation, so what reason can there be for needing it? If, as one or two posters are suggesting, this control freak government should have whatever they want, why not have indefinite detention without charge, a la Guantanamo Bay?

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

Well as a left supporter in my youth, even then i looked at both sides story, now we have a government supposedly of the left, with Harriet Harmen, coming out with stupid remarks, about fidel castro.and now after, the different troops, from uk and usa, seem to have been torturers, specialy with cuba connection on usa part, and our government has the gall to ask for more powers to make us into a police state, aka cuba!!
No wonder I am more likely to support the Tories at this rate!!

jon rose, torrington, uk

Internment with out trial did not put a stop to IRA terrorism. Quite the contrary, it exacerbated it. Anyone who thinks a return to such a policy will stop Islamic terrorism is a fool

Paul, Coventry,

Amazing that our international contributors are so keen to have us thrown in the clink without any notion of what the charge might be, until we loose our jobs, career prospects and homes. But since the period for detention without charge is, I believe, 48 hours in both the US and NZ, they have nothing to worry about personally.

Let's be clear about it: the claim is that it is necessary to jail someone for 6 weeks WITHOUT TELLING THEM WHY. We can already bung them up for as long as necessary once we have a reason that will satisfy a judge, but, unlike the rest of the civilized world, our cops want the power to wreck someone's life on suspicion and guilt by association - the same evidence that got deMenezies shot.

The claim that this would only be used in exceptional circumstances must be seen in context with the abuse of earlier anti-terrorism laws which we were assured would never stifle legitimate protest - and were instantly used against an OAP at a Labour Party Conference.

Richard, Horley,

The problem with such measures as ID cards and 42 day detention without trial is that they can be and are misused -e.g. extradition treaties. The IRA was defeated without all this nonsense. Moreover ID cards suffer badly from the problem of false positives - just look at UKGov recruitment of illegals and you see the ID fault line in a nutshell. As has been widely commented a 14 day max with extension on application to a judge plus the power to interrogate after charging (in terrorist matters only) is all that is needed. So why these draconian powers? Our freedoms and democracy are dying on the vine and nobody says nowt.

Howard Wortley, Bournemouth,

The audacity of the man.

Lock him up for 42 days without trial!

(Oh and without Legal Aid , or at best a state appointed placeman as lawyer (with telephone conversations bugged de rigeur))....

Alistairs Solicitors, Bristol, UK

The gov't and security services should drop the idea of an upper limit completely. They should go back to the original two weeks as the default position, with provision for police to extend indefinitely on a weekly basis on application to a judge.

Bob, London,

I really, really, really don't like Gordon Brown. BUT.. on this occasion he is supporting the right cause. Those that dig their heels in about adquate police options, ID cards, DNA database and any other measure that MAKES US SAFER in the long term, are also the same ones who cry out that the bombers and killers 'have rights too'. They get them out on bail, free to kill, rape and maim again. Who are they fighting for? Certainly not my rights! Is there an underlying reason that these people show such passion in support of the terrorists? Will they say the same thing when their daughter is killed because the police had the killer, but had to let them go too quickly?

David L, London,

>>They want the 42-day power in place to deal with any future case where they would have to arrest a large number of suspects involved in multiple, complex plots.<< If they had wanted it for that, they would have said LONG ago. They didn't. They said it was because new technology used a lot of time to investigate thoroughly. Like ID cards, they are thrashing around looking for a justification. The truth is that these wretched politicians want unlimited power, and feel we are in the way of this. We should never, ever, trust one of these politicians. Or this particular policeman.

George Edwards, Rawcliffe, UK

"this is starting to remind me of the racism blacks suffered in america all those years ago .." - what sort of comment is that?? Where is any race or religion mentioned anywhere in this article??

There will be another 7/7 in Britain - good work Labour backbenchers

Corner of 6th and Congress, Austin, TX

I never agree with Brown but in this instance he is right, once again the mealy mouthed liberal left wing nice people have won again. What is needed is for some of Britain's home grown terrorist to have a really
big bang somewhere and hopefully the scourge of the country, the liberal left wing may just reappraise the situation and realise that Britain is full of very dangerous people.

Barry Holmes, Christchurch, New Zealand

Yes, Britain bury your heads in the ground and, like the Americans, say, "it will never happen to us". After all, the freedom to rebel and kick authority is a part of the British culture.

Adrian Chandler, Nelson, New Zealand

keep rebelling backbenchers please in the name of freedom of the individual. this is starting to remind me of the racism blacks suffered in america all those years ago

Dave, London, england