GORDON BROWN is to call for a cultural war to defeat Islamic terrorism as he appeals to Labour rebels to back down in their opposition to identity cards and new terror laws.

The Chancellor, who yesterday backed raising the period for which terrorist suspects can be detained to more than 28 days, will also attack David Cameron over the prospect of the Tories voting against the Government in crucial votes today and on Wednesday.

At no point, he will say in a speech to the Royal United Services Institute today, should “any serious decision-maker be soft or posture on security matters”. Mr Cameron retorted that attempts to paint critics as “soft” on terrorism were a transparent political stunt.

Ministers are braced for big revolts today over plans to force the Government to cost ID cards and make them compulsory for people applying for passports. On Wednesday, in a potentially even tighter scrape, they face a rebellion as Labour MPs back the Lords in its opposition to a new offence of glorifying terror. Sandwiched in between will be decisions tomorrow that will determine whether smoking is banned in all pubs, clubs and restaurants.

But yesterday Mr Brown, continuing to emphasise his status as prime minister in waiting with interventions on wideranging policy fronts, said that ID cards were vital to protect Britain from a repeat of the July 7 terror attacks.

In today’s speech he will say that the extremists must be isolated from the moderates. Although he does not use the phrase “cultural war” he says what is needed is a repeat of the “cultural cold war” by which communism was defeated through the power of argument, debate and dialogue.

He will say that young Muslims must be given a voice. In order to expose the extremism which condones or encourages violence, all parts of the Muslim faith should be involved in ensuring that young Muslims get access to “authoritative interpreters of Islam”.

Mr Brown said that critics of the new laws should wake up to the scale of the security threat facing Britain. He wants the 28-day detention period extended over time.

The Chancellor’s speech comes as Labour leaders frantically try to contain this week’s rebellions and the much bigger one on the Education Bill.

Mr Cameron, writing in The Sunday Telegraph, hit back at Mr Blair and Mr Brown. He said that security and freedom did not depend on a “false choice between toughness and liberalism” but on the firm and consistent implementation of effective measures. He urged MPs to defy the Government “in the long-term interests of security and freedom”.

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