On a visit to Blackburn, where she faced anti-American demonstrations from local Muslims, the US Secretary of State was candid about the shortcomings of the most controversial aspects of the Bush Administration’s foreign policy, but insisted that history would judge the White House more kindly.

“No one should ever doubt the United States’ commitment to justice and the rule of law,” she told the Royal Institute of International Affairs, which had relocated from St James’s in London to Blackburn Rovers Football Club for the afternoon.

“We do not tolerate, either at home or abroad, engagement in acts of torture. We also have no desire to be the world’s jailer. We want the terrorists that have been captured to stand trial for their crimes,” she said.

“But we also recognise that we are fighting a cunning enemy and our citizens will judge us harshly if we release a captured terrorist before we are absolutely certain that he does not possess information that could prevent a further attack or, even worse, commit terrorism again.”

Her remarks were in part a response to growing criticism from the Government over the continued incarceration of hundreds of terror suspects at the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Britain has lobbied hard to have its citizens freed from the prison, which Tony Blair now describes as an “anomaly”. Last week Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, said that he would intervene with Washington on behalf of Bisher al-Rawi, 37, an Iraqi national with British residency who is in Guantanamo.

Mr Straw, the MP for Blackburn, who arranged Dr Rice’s visit to northern England, emphasised in his speech that the West could not preach democracy and the respect of human rights abroad if it did not adhere to the principles itself.

Earlier, some 200 demonstrators at a school booed and chanted: “Condoleezza Rice, go home.” Some carried signs that read: “How many lives per gallon?”

Dr Rice, who defended their right to protest, also faced hostile questions after her speech from local leaders. She disarmed some critics by admitting the shortcomings of the US operation in Iraq, although she reiterated that the strategy of removing Saddam from power and encouraging democracy in the region was correct.

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