British PM faces crunch vote on anti-terror plans

LONDON (AFP) - The British government admitted Tuesday it has more work to do to persuade lawmakers of its anti-terrorism plans, on the eve of a crunch vote which could deal a new blow to Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

As one minister said the vote Wednesday (today) will be "very, very tight", Home Secretary Jacqui Smith briefed colleagues on the plan to increase the pre-charge detention limit for suspected extremists from 28 days to 42.

Asked if Brown was confident of winning the parliamentary vote, as a debate got underway in parliament, the PM's spokesman Michael Ellam told reporters: "The general position was that there was still more to do."

Some 50 members of Brown's Labour Party are expected to vote with Opposition parties against the government's plan. Defeat would increase pressure on Brown, hit by unpopularity in the polls and recent defeats in the London Mayoral contest and a by-election in a staunch Labour stronghold.

But amid suggestions from commentators that the result could even determine the prime minister's future if he were to lose, Ellam again said that Brown does not see the vote as a confidence issue.

A Populus poll for The Times suggested ministers had made the case to the wider public: 40 per cent backed an extension; 33 per cent were supportive provided there were safeguards on parliamentary monitoring.

Opponents of the controversial Counter-Terrorism Bill, though, include parliament's oversight committee on human rights, civil liberties groups and a leading Muslim organisation as well as senior legal figures.

Plans to increase pre-charge detention limits for suspected extremists were dealt a fresh blow Tuesday, as Scotland's chief prosecutor opposed the move on the eve of a crunch parliamentary vote.

Scottish Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini's opposition to upping the maximum limit from 28 days to 42 echoes the view of the top prosecutor in England and Wales, Ken Macdonald, who has said the existing framework is "effective".

She told The Herald newspaper in Glasgow that she was "not aware" of any cases in Scotland where an extension beyond 28 days would have been necessary.

"I, therefore, share the view of the DPP Sir Ken Macdonald, that the requirement for an extension to the current 28 days is not supported by prosecution experience to date," she said.

Meanwhile, the UN's special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, Martin Scheinin, urged Brown to think again.

"I appeal to the (British) government to withdraw the bill or to postpone taking a definite decision on it," he said in Geneva.