"Police, traffic wardens etc"
Traffic wardens!??

Gary, Belfast,

I do not understand how 'stop and question' would help fight terrorism. How is it going to be inforced? Once stopped and questioned is your name going to be put in a database some where.Terrosist are professionals and surely would have legitimate answers when stopped by the police and asked what are you doing here? where are you going?
What would happen is more blacks and muslims would be stopped.

Christopher , London,

I'd like to tell Tony McNulty that the stop-and-search powers used by our police are not as unpopular as he seems to think.I've been stopped and searched, and was delighted that the police were carrying out this task. I was then able to use the underground station feeling re-assured,as were all the other commuters involved.If it helps prevent one terrorist attrocity it is a small price to pay.
I always think of the old saying that it is better to be 30 minutes late in this world that 30 years early in the next.

Mike, Dunstable, England

How many Civil Liberties have we actually got left? How many will be allowed to keep?

Id cards, total CCTV surviellance, detention without trial (mental health act), police right to demand Id and destination, HMCE powers of entry, USA extraditiion treaty.

I think I will always be allowed to shop and pay taxes but I think the rest of our freedoms will be given up in the name of terrorism and protecting our freedoms.

It is always good to know that the authorities do not make mistakes and only use these powers on 'bad' people. Fortunately, they tell us who the bad people are by using these powers on them. Hang on a minute!

Mike Hinsley, Bristol,

Sorry Jo, You go for it if you like, i live in the U.K. where once you where a citizen but are now treated as a suspect or a potential enemy of the state, as to "politically correct world" that is exactly why we are in this mess in the first place, it has been the mantra of Tony Blair and his Government and is their legacy. I ask myself the question do i want to live in a democracy or an oppressive totalitarian regime overseen by control freaks?.

Don, leeds, u.k.

Stop messing about and get on with it. Don't forget the ID cards as well.

Rob, Bristol,

I Policed in the 1960s until the 1990s. Co-operation and consent allows one to carry out this task. Forget race, colour or creed, it matters not. The Police are here to make the place a better and safer place for all to live in.
Civil liberties are paramount and should be held highly in our democratic country, but, to achieve this, laws have to be in place to give safety to all.
CCTV is a great tool, but it only helps after the event to indentify. Stop and speak and, as a last resort, seach if appropriate, in the right way can only help to make all safer.
I do note as I enter the autumn of my life and qualify for a free bus-pass and other concessionns by showing proof of identity, which is supported by a photograph, there is no resistance by the hundreds of thousands who do this daily on trains, buses and other concessionary venues to anyone who asks to see the proof.

Michael, leicester, UK

And the police still wonder why now even the middles classes distrust and despise them!

Mike Bibby, St Albans, England -not EU

Isn't all of this just a warm up for the introduction of ID cards? Less about terrorism directly and more about this government's continued obsession with everything nanny?

It was recently reported that up to 15 million Brits would refuse to provide either the card or personal information about themselves if stopped (Sunday Times 8th April). Isn't this all a convenient preamble to bringing in legislation, which will deter such people from refusing to go along with the card scheme?

Wasn't it Oscar Wilde who said “I can stand brute force, but brute reason is quite unbearable. There is something unfair about its use. It is hitting below the intellect.”

Well, it would certainly seem with the current government that we have both brute force and brute reason and for one reason or another there is absolutely no attempt on their part to hide it.

Tom, Katowice, Poland

You say these powers are to be extended "to the rest of the United Kingdom". Are you sure about that?
They don't have "shoot-to-kill" in Scotland where policing and justice are devolved matters, do they?

I think you will find that this is another example of what was tested in Ireland being introduced into England and Wales. But not into Scotland.

john , Las Palmas de Gran Canaria,

Throughout the troubles in Northern Ireland, the use of such stop and search powers has demonstrated a significant bias based on religion, geography and class. Creating unease and resentment between the police and the policed, the guiding principle of 'security for the greater good' has had a detrimental effect effect on both civil liberties and police community relations. Winning communities over rather than inventing new barriers is the key to a more equitable delivery of security and justice.

John, Belfast,

At last a bit of lateral thinking. Too often in this now politically correct world, we constantly tip-toe around the elephant in the room for fear of upsetting someone.
Police, traffic wardens etc should have powers to walk up and ask the question 'what are you doing' when they see something or someone suspicious. 'Yes, but what is the definition of suspicious??' I hear the civil libertarians shouting.
Quite frankly, in these troubling times, virtually everyone. And that's fine with me. Best to ask the obvious question than sit back and then think "I should have". Go for it.

Jo, Melbourne, Australia

Of course, the only way one may be certain of satisfying the demands of the Police to satisfy one's bona fides when stopped and searched is to produce unimpeachable evidence of one's identity.

Of course, carrying an identidy card is not to be made compulsory but it will take a little longer to satisfy the demand for information unless it is actually carried and produced when stopped

A similar sleight of hand was used under the Tories in relation to the right to silence. Of course one may exercise the absolute lawful right to silence but a rather unpleasant consequence will attach by way of adverse inference to anyone foolish enough to pray in aid of it!

Iolis, Preston, Tyrrania Britannica