[JURIST] UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [official website] urged British members of Parliament Monday "not to compromise with the nation's security" by reducing a proposed legislative 90-day time limit for detaining terror suspects without charge recommended [PDF letter] by London's Metropolitan Police. Blair's statement came minutes after Home Secretary Charles Clarke [official profile] proposed a compromise amendment to the government's Terrorism Bill [text] reducing the period to between 28 and 90 days. The original 90-day proposal seems unlikely to pass [JURIST report] in the House of Commons, as Liberal Democrats are pushing for a 14-day limit, while Conservatives support a 28-day limit. The Commons will vote on an amendment Wednesday. In his press conference [statement] Monday, Blair said, "We intend to use the time between now and Wednesday to try to get people to understand the importance of giving the police and our security services the powers they need to prevent terrorism in this country." BBC News has more. The Guardian has additional coverage.

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