Blunkett waters down terrorism laws

An array of drastic new moves to counter terrorism was put forward today by David Blunkett as he warned that an attack on Britain is only a matter of time.

Mr Blunkett gave no details of tougher laws designed to combat al Qaeda, saying he welcomed ideas which would not breach basic human rights.

And he defended his powers to detain without charge or trial foreign nationals suspected of being terrorists, saying it was an "essential" measure.

He unveiled plans to double the size of MI5, recruiting 1,000 spies including interpreters and surveillance officers. Special Branch will get £3 million to set up regional "intelligence cells".

The package of measures was far weaker than Mr Blunkett had hinted at when he discussed sweeping changes to the justice system last month. Those ideas included charging suspected terrorists before they committed atrocitiestrying them in secret before vetted judges sitting without a jury; and reducing the burden of proof from "beyond reasonable doubt" to "on the balance of probability".

These measures were criticised by civil rights campaigners - but today the Home Secretary was conciliatory, saying: "There are always certain rights which are non-negotiable. There are some - for example the right to life, the prohibition on torture, the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial - where we cannot compromise-But it is right to debate the way in which these principles are safeguarded and the processes through which they are secured."

The only vestige of Mr Blunkett's original plans is a proposal to allow tapped phone conversations to be used as evidence in court. But that is likely to be opposed by the security services themselves, who argue it would reveal too much about their techniques.

A proposed change to the law on conspiracy will be published later this year. The change is likely to bring Britain into line with the USA and France, where associating with a terrorist or criminal is a charge that can be used to imprison members of terror cells, even if they have not handled guns or explosives or plotted attacks.

The Home Secretary insisted no final decisions had been taken. He extended the consultation period by six months.

Speaking earlier, before his paper was published, Mr Blunkett revealed the his fears of a terror strike on Britain, and accused civil liberties groups of trying to "demonise" him.

"I am fed up with what little debate we have being dictated by campaigners and lawyers who only say how rights are damaged rather than come up with solutions," he said, defending his internment powers. But Lesley Warner of Amnesty International said the powers were "an aberration of justice, the rule of law and human rights".

CIA Director George Tenet has warned al Qaeda remains capable of an attack on the scale of September 11.