Sir Ian said the British people should 'brace themselves for a truly appalling act of terror'. He said that following this act of barbarism 'people would be talking quite openly about internment', giving the impression that he would be leading the pro-internment lobby. No doubt he will find a willing supplicant in the tougher than tough Home Secretary John Reid.

My informant thought at first that it really was a throwaway remark but on reflection felt that it couldn't have been made by accident. Well, either that or the Reform Club claret had loosened his tongue.

I haven't even bothered to ring the Met Press Office because I know what they will say. But if this really is the stance Sir Ian is taking then we should be even more worried about our civil liberties than we already are. I'm now even more convinced that the Conservative stance against 90 days detention was right.