Controversial plans to make it a criminal offence to praise terrorist attacks were significantly watered down by the Home Secretary today.

Charles Clarke abandoned proposals - published just three weeks ago - which would have made it a crime to glorify terrorist acts contained in a list compiled by the Home Office.

But Mr Clarke stood by plans to allow police to detain terror suspects for up to three months before charge.

The offence of glorifying terrorism will still feature in a new Terrorism Bill, but it will have to be proved that the person making the statement intended to incite further terrorist acts.

Commentators had said that the previous drafting was too wide, with Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, suggesting it would have criminalised supporters of Nelson Mandela and the South African ANC 20 years ago.

Seeking to restore cross-party support for the plans, Mr Clarke wrote to his Conservative and Liberal Democrat shadows saying he thought he had found a way to "ameloriate some of the concern".

Mr Clarke also published new plans to give police powers to temporarily close down places of worship - such as mosques - which are being used by extremists.

The trustee or registered owner of a place of worship would be issued with an order - obtained from a court by the police - requiring them to take steps to stop such behaviour. Failing to do so would be a criminal offence.

If the activity persisted, police could apply to the court for a "restriction of use order" which could temporarily close all or part of the premises.

The consultation paper said the new powers would be a "last resort" and police would attempt to solve problems at any place of worship with members of the community.

Publishing a paper from the Metropolitan Police setting out the need to increase the maximum pre-charge period, Mr Clarke said in his letter: "I remain convinced ... that we need to increase the limit to three months.

"The judicial oversight which will exist will mean that detention will only be possible if it is necessary and if the investigation is being carried out as expeditiously as possible."

He added: "The police use their existing detention powers cautiously and in moderation, and I am confident that they would use an amended power in the same careful fashion.

"Such powers already operate successfully in other European countries - in France and Spain suspects can be detained for up to four years before trial."

David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, said of the closure powers: "This is a move in the right direction. We will give it careful consideration."

But he said the case for a three month detention period was still "unproven". "The evidence provided to date is wholly inconclusive," he added.

Mark Oaten, the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesman, welcomed Mr Clarke’s move on the glorification of terrorism as “significant”.

“The new definition is a major improvement. It means that cases where people are deliberately trying to provoke terrorism are more likely to stand up in court,” he said.

But he added: “The case still has not been made for the holding of suspects beyond 14 days.

“It would be far better to charge suspected terrorists with a lesser offence and hold them on remand while investigations are ongoing. The Home Office have yet to respond to this suggestion from the Liberal Democrats.”

Proposals for a new power to control extremist behaviour in a place of worship “do not make a great deal of sense”, said Mr Oaten.

“If the police have evidence that individual worshippers are breaking the law, they should arrest them,” he said. “If they are unsure who to arrest, they should use surveillance to gather the necessary evidence.

“Forcing religious leaders to silence extremist voices will simply force those voices underground. Working with religious leaders to resolve problems is always going to be more productive.”

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Wartime couple are reunited 68 years on
• 50 People of the Decade
• Book round-ups. Turkeys tarted up. I feel sick