BRITAIN:A MAJORITY of voters, and a majority of Labour supporters, back British prime minister Gordon Brown over the planned extension of the time for holding terrorism suspects from 28 to 42 days, according to an ICM poll.
Publication of the poll coincided with a report that Mr Brown was preparing a U-turn on the issue in face of a threatened rebellion by Labour MPs.
However, his resolve may have been stiffened by the intervention of former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove, who backed the planned extension of the time limit.
Sir Richard, who retired in 2004, was quoted by the Mail on Sundayas saying that al-Qaeda would not hesitate to "blow away a complete city" should it obtain the means to do so.
Sir Richard echoed Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair's view that the increasing complexity of terror plots would necessitate a longer detention period at some point in the future.
"In some states simply establishing identity is a major investigative challenge," he said. "When we do need that extension, we will need it badly."
Confirming some Conservative fears that leader David Cameron is out of tune with the public mood about the terrorism threat, ICM found 57 per cent of voters overall saying the current 28-day limit should be changed, with 62 per cent of Conservative voters in favour, as against 57 per cent of Labour voters and 45 per cent of Liberal Democrats.
The issue comes back for a Commons vote in early June.