Australian police were today described as bumbling "Keystone Cops" for their handling of a case against an Indian doctor charged over the failed car bombings in London and Glasgow.

The gibe was part of a deepening political row over the competence of the police's anti-terrorism operation and the response to it by the Government of John Howard, the Prime Minister.

Dr Mohammed Haneef, a doctor who had been working at a Queensland hospital for almost a year, was initially arrested on July 2 as he tried to leave Australia for India on a one-way ticket and was charged two weeks later with supporting a terrorist organisation.

At the time, he was revealed to be the second cousin of Kafeel Ahmed, who was travelling in a burning Jeep that drove into Glasgow Airport. Mr Ahmed is under police guard at a Scottish hospital having suffered severe burns.

However, disquiet over the handling of the case began when Dr Haneef was unexpectedly granted bail by a magistrate, despite having already been charged with terrorism offences, only for the Government to announce that it was then detaining him on immigration charges.

Today, the argument deepened when police denied media claims that the force had written the names of a number of terrorist suspects in Dr Haneef's diary, and then questioned him over whether he knew them.

In a broadside against the handling of the investigation, and leaks coming from it, Peter Beattie, the Labour Premier of Queensland, where Dr Mohammed Haneef was arrested, said: “For heaven’s sake, this is starting to look like the Keystone Cops, to be frank.

“These sort of leaks to me are just crazy and unacceptable in a climate where everyone is working to defeat terrorism."

The attack resulted in a furious response by the Government, which accused him of exploiting the row for political purposes.

Today's revelations were the latest of numerous stories based on leaks from supposed police sources to the media. Dr Haneef's lawyers have claimed that police and authorities have deliberately tried to portray the evidence against him as stronger than it really is.

Among the contentious issues, police have refused to clarify reports that Dr Haneef's mobile phone sim card was not found in the vehicle used to attack the Glasgow Airport, as had been initially claimed by a prosecutor during Haneef's bail hearing.

Mr Beattie, who represents the opposition Labour Party, added in an interview that the case would leave the Australian police and Government widely ridiculed.

"I've never seen such an incompetent explanation of what's going on from the federal Government. They should wake up to themselves," he said. "The level of cynicism which is developing here is going to continue, and then that undermines public confidence in the anti-terrorism laws."

The Queensland President's comments were backed by Iqbal Patel, President of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, who said that the way the case had been handled required a rethink of anti-terror laws.

"I think there is a need for the anti-terrorism legislation and the Migration Act both to be put through scrutiny again and maybe reviewed," he said.

Kerry Nettle, a senator representing the Australian Green party, blamed pressure from the Government for the police handling of Dr Haneef’s case.

"The federal police have been put under incredible pressure by the Government to come up with a charge and a case against this man, and the pressure they have been under has seen them skip over the facts and make so many mistakes in relation to this case."

The attacks drew an immediate response from Alexander Downing, the Foreign Minister, who told said: "He [Beattie] is trying to undermine public support in the federal police for party political reasons, to ... attack the Howard Government."

The Australian Federal Police (AFP), meanwhile, issued their own statement denying reports that Dr Haneef had been planning to commit attacks in Australia, or that police had annotated his diary.

“Police at no time made any notations or additions to Mr Haneef’s diary,” Commissioner Mick Keelty said, adding that he could not elaborate as the case was before the courts, and that it had written to Dr Haneef's legal team.

Three people have been charged in the UK over the attacks, including another of Dr Haneef's second cousins, Sabeel Ahmed, who is accused of failing to disclose information that could have prevented an act of terrorism.

The incidents saw a car filled with gas canisters and nails left outside a central London nightclub, while another had been parked nearby. Both were made safe. A day later, a jeep was driven into the main terminal building at Glasgow Airport, causing a fire and extensive damage to the building, but no fatalities.

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