Smash hit

The Law Society has argued in written submissions to the committee that the detention powers were "tantamount to internment".

But Mr Clarke responded: "It’s not internment. It’s nothing like what happened in Northern Ireland."

He added that he would "deplore in the strongest possible way" any suggestion that it did amount to internment.

The Home Secretary also indicated that in some future legislation it may be necessary to change the rules on how police can question suspects. At present, they cannot question someone about newly discovered evidence once they have been charged.

Mr Clarke said: "It would be worth looking at in the not too distant future, in particular the issue of possibly having a higher charge and interviewing after that charge."

The Home Secretary dismissed suggestions that the Prime Minister’s wife Cherie Blair and former Liberal Democrat MP Jenny Tonge could be prosecuted for previous statements under the "glorification" offence.

The Law Society claimed both women were "very likely" to be caught under the offence.

Mr Clarke said: "I would categorically say that the remarks referred to will not be covered by this legislation. Analysis of why terrorism takes place is very important. But encouraging and glorifying is completely different."

In June 2002, just hours after 19 people on a Jerusalem school bus were killed by Palestinian suicide bombers, Mrs Blair said: "As long as young people feel they have got no hope but to blow themselves up, you are never going to make progress."

Last year Ms Tonge, now Baroness Tonge, was sacked as Lib Dem spokeswoman for children after telling a pro-Palestine lobby, in a reference to Palestine suicide bombers: "If I had to live in that situation - and I say that advisedly - I might just consider becoming one myself."

Mr Clarke told the MPs he was confident that the Bill complied with the UN Convention on Human Rights and believed court challenge would be "very unlikely" to succeed.

"I believe we will succeed in achieving a situation where the case law as it builds up on this will actually lead to clarity in this area," he said.

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