Standard of proof?

Apprehending suspects before they struck could give anti-terror efforts a very good chance, he argued. This suggests the paper could include allowing Britons and other nationals to be convicted of terror offences based on intelligence reports alone. But he does not intend to lower the standard of proof for terror cases, although there could be civil court orders for those on the fringes of terror groups.

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Mr. Blunkett insisted he wanted to protect democracy and appealed to his critics to come up with answers. "We all accept that this is an enormous challenge - the proportionality, the balance between protection of individual rights and the protection of the nation from terrorism attack," he said. "Now you tell me how to square the circle."

Rights fears

On Wednesday MPs will debate criticisms about the anti-terror laws published in December made by a review group chaired by Lord Newton. The group said detention without trial had not been used excessively but pushed for the laws to be replaced by measures which did not need Britain to opt out of European human rights laws.

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On Tuesday Parliament's human rights select committee said it doubted whether the detentions were justified and argued measures in line with Britain's human rights duties were urgently needed. Amnesty International UK's Lesley Warner said the current laws for foreign terror suspects had faced universal condemnation. "The home secretary's reported new proposals are an aberration of justice, the rule of law and human rights," she said. On Thursday, the laws come up for their annual renewal from Parliament. On Wednesday Mr. Blunkett is also due to spell out his plans to recruit another 1,000 staff for MI5 as it shifts to recruit more Arabic speakers and focus on the threat from al-Qaeda. BBCNews-Wire.