Turmoil over terror laws

Tony Blair scrambled to save his anti-terror Bill from collapse today as he prepared for a showdown with MPs.

Tony Blair scrambled to save his anti-terror Bill from collapse today as he prepared for a showdown with MPs.

He staged a tactical retreat by offering concessions to rebels while the whips were putting " bonecrushing pressure" on wavering backbenchers.

Amid the commotion, Tory leader Michael Howard enraged the Prime Minister by accusing him of wanting his own Bill to fail in a cynical ploy to make the Tories look soft.

"He wants to pretend that he is the only one who is tough on terrorism," claimed Mr Howard during a searing clash in the Commons.

With the Government rejecting Conservative proposals to put a time limit on the emergency powers, including house arrest without trial, Mr Howard astonished MPs with his allegation.

He said: "I have come to the conclusion that this Prime Minister wants the Bill to fail.

"Isn't it a dreadful measure from a desperate Prime Minister and should not he be thoroughly ashamed of himself ?"

Mr Blair was visibly angered at the claim. He said the "shame" belonged to the Conservatives for opposing the Bill. "We will have this debate here and in the country," he said. "We will say where the shame lies. If they want to vote against it, let them. We will be content to hear the verdict of the country on it."

Their clash at Prime Minister's Questions came as Home Secretary Charles Clarke announced new concessions.

In his most significant climbdown, the Home Secretary said judges rather than ministers will normally issue control orders on terrorist suspects.

He also promised to review the emergency powers annually and bring in the check that they are used only when prosecutions are impossible.

But the minister dug in his heels on two key demands made by peers, rejecting calls for higher standards of proof before suspects are put under restrictions without trial, and for a "sunset clause" to make the powers expire after eight months.

Mr Clarke acted days after insisting there could be no further concessions to the cross-party MPs, peers and legal experts who oppose the Bill.

He said he moved because the legislation was so " critically important" to defeating terrorism."

He added: "There has been a very substantial parliamentary expression of views

which I have had to listen to."

Mr Clarke warned that suspected terrorists now in Belmarsh jail will walk free next week with no control over their activities if the new Bill is not passed.

The U-turns followed another night of defeats in the Lords.

In the worst setback, the Tory call for a "sunset clause" was passed by a margin of almost three to one. The amendment was a blow to Mr Blair, who threw the proposal back into Mr Howard's face in the Commons a week ago.

Government insiders were banking on getting most of the defeats reversed in the Commons in the hope that the peers will back down.

But Labour

peer Lord Borrie said: "Unless significant concessions are made the Bill will be lost." The stand- of f between the Government and the cross-party opponents looked set to go right to the wire.

Labour whips believe last week's Commons revolt - which saw Mr Blair's majority tumble to just 14 in one division - has been put under control by the concessions. "If the Commons rallies behind the Bill, the Lords will have to give in," said an insider.

But some peers said the colossal scale of the Government's defeats last night gave them "moral authority" to defy the elected House. A total of 24 Labour peers defied the

whip - four more than on Monday - including the Prime Minister's old mentor, former Lord Chancellor Lord Irvine. The defeat was so overwhelming that the Government would have lost even if not a single Tory had voted.

Downing Street believe today's concessions will be enough to save the Bill without surrendering the new powers.

The Prime Minister's spokesman said: "We are going to address the issue of judicial input in a way which should meet people's concerns."

But Peers and MPs were waiting to see the exact wording of Mr Clarke's amendments before making up their minds.