CHARLES Clarke appeared yesterday to back off from using hardline powers to detain terrorist suspects under “house arrest” before talks with other party leaders this week.

The Home Secretary insisted that he was still planning to introduce “control orders” to bring in curfew powers up to and including home detention without charge or trial.

But he placed the emphasis on the “wide range of measures” falling short of the house arrest-style powers that were criticised in a paper to the Cabinet last Thursday by the police and MI5.

Mr Clarke also dismissed reports that he was about to allow the use of phone-taps as evidence in terrorist trials. He said studies showed that this would not lead to an increase in convictions.

The Home Secretary is due to meet Michael Howard, the Conservative leader, and Charles Kennedy, the Lib Dem leader, to discuss his proposals on Friday. Both opposition leaders will refuse to give their backing to Mr Clarke’s plans for home detention.

David Willetts, the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said that house arrest went “very deeply against everything we in this country stand for”.

Mr Kennedy said that it was “open for discussion” whether new laws were needed to address the threat of terrorism. He said: “We must never have the position in this country where a politician can decide whether you walk free or are put under house arrest.”

• Senior Cabinet ministers have admitted the mistakes that they most regretted since coming into power in 1997. John Reid told the Labour Party Spring Conference: “I do wish we’d started to reform the public services earlier.”

  Mr Clarke said he felt bad that he had not done more to stop people-trafficking. He said: “It has brought about the most appalling tragedies.”

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