Terrorism fight is our Cold War, says Brown
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Tough anti-terror measures, including detaining suspects without charge beyond 28 days and the use of phone-tap evidence in court, are being considered by Gordon Brown following the London and Glasgow attacks.
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The Prime Minister yesterday compared the lengthy struggle against terrorism to the 40 years of the Cold War, saying it would involve a battle for the hearts and minds of young Muslims as well as new security measures.
The Conservatives promised to co-operate with Mr Brown and indicated that they may be willing to drop their opposition to the extension of the 28-day detention period, provided it was shown that the police need the extra time.
William Hague, the Tory foreign affairs spokesman, stressed that the Government would have to provide "compelling'' evidence that an extension to as much as 90 days was needed, and warned that MPs would not give Mr Brown a "blank cheque" to bring in tougher security powers.
Extended detention without charge is expected to be brought forward by Mr Brown in a terrorism Bill in the autumn to tighten security.
It was doubled to 28 days two years ago, but Tony Blair's attempt to push through 90 days in the face of strong opposition from the Tories, Liberal Democrats and many Labour MPs was defeated.
Mr Brown has already indicated his support for 90 days, but said yesterday that he would seek "consensus".
He has cited the need for the police and security services to trawl through computer records, emails and the use of multiple identities and addresses by terrorists as reasons why a longer detention period may be necessary.
Interviewed on BBC television's Sunday AM programme, Mr Brown stressed that any new detention measures would include safeguards to protect civil liberties, including enhanced judicial and parliamentary oversight.
The terrorists were making a long term and sustained attack on Western values and it would have to be countered by not just military and security means, Mr Brown said.
"It's also about hearts and minds. If in the long term we cannot separate the moderates from the extremists and the extremists prey on young lives both in this country and in other parts of the world, then we will see culturally a distancing of people with extreme views from the rest of the community.
"And that's why the cultural effort, almost similar to what happened during the Cold War in the 1940s, 50s and 60s when we had to mount a propaganda effort to explain to people that our values represented the best of commitments to individual dignity, to liberty and to human life being taken seriously. And that's what we are going to have to talk about in the next few years."
Mr Brown said he wanted wide debate among MPs and the public before introducing any new security powers. He confirmed that the Government was looking at allowing phone tap or other intercept evidence to be used in court, despite security and intelligence service concerns that it could alert criminals to the scope and extent of electronic surveillance.