LONDON (AFP) — Prime Minister Gordon Brown faces a nail-biting vote in parliament Wednesday over his controversial anti-terrorism plans, as his colleagues mounted a final push to win over potential rebels.
As many as 50 MPs from Brown's Labour Party could vote against the government over the controversial plans to extend pre-charge detention limits for suspected extremists from 28 days to 42.
With the main opposition parties also set to oppose Brown and concern about the human rights implications of the proposals, Brown is at the mercy of his backbenchers and smaller parties and defeat would increase the pressure on him.
Labour is at an all-time low in the opinion polls and has suffered crushing defeats in recent local polls and a by-election. As a result, the vote is being seen as a test of whether Brown still retains rank-and-file support.
Brown has repeatedly insisted he does not see the result as a vote of confidence and maintains that police need more time to question suspects because of the increasingly complex, often international nature of plots.
But in a sign of the importance being given to the vote, Foreign Secretary David Miliband cut short a Middle East visit to return to London and junior Home Office minister Tony McNulty signalled a fresh attempt to sway rebels.
McNulty told BBC television late Tuesday that suspects who are held for 42 days but eventually freed without charge could be paid compensation of 3,000 pounds.
Labour whips -- those responsible for ensuring MPs toe the party line on voting in parliament -- are said to have been desperately wooing potential rebels with promises to back their individual causes.
According to the Press Association, rumours at Westminster included a promise by ministers to back one backbencher's call to ease UN sanctions on Cuba and another's request for more help to former miners with lung disease.
"It's basically your heart's desire. The idea is that people can back down with honour," it quoted one unnamed backbencher as saying.
Opinion polls suggest that Brown has widespread public support for his proposals, although he could face further opposition in the upper House of Lords if he wins in the lower House of Commons later Wednesday.
But the human rights group Liberty revived memories of the Britain's handling of intelligence to justify invasion of Iraq in 2003 by claiming that the government had exaggerated the case for 42 days.
"It seems that ministers or police have sexed up the dossiers for extension," said the group's director Shami Chakrabarti.
"I have learned that in two of the cases where people were charged late the evidence eventually used was available at four days and 12 days respectively."
Other opponents also point to the fact that the existing Civil Contingencies Act already allows for an extra 30 days' detention and the new law is unnecessary.
The government, though, said it wants to give police extra time without declaring a state of emergency, which Brown's spokesman Tuesday would hand a propaganda coup to extremist groups like Al-Qaeda.
They also maintain that there are enough safeguards built in to the proposals to allay concerns about civil liberties, stressing that it is a "reserve" power to be used only in exceptional circumstances.
Brown's predecessor Tony Blair tried unsuccessfully to increase pre-charge detention limits from the then-maximum 14 days to 90 days in 2005 after the London suicide attacks that killed 56, including the four bombers.
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