There is no reason why such privately employed staff should not be able to conduct intimate searches

Leaked memo

Home Secretary David Blunkett said he was thinking about the change, revealed in a leaked memo, in an effort to get more police officers patrolling the streets.

No decisions have yet been made on the issue, stressed Mr Blunkett, but the Liberal Democrats have condemned the idea as the "height of stupidity".

Keeping quiet

The proposal could be introduced under the Police Reform Bill which is currently going through Parliament.

A memo, leaked to the Guardian newspaper, warned Home Office Minister Lord Rooker not to mention the prospect of privatisation of this police role when discussing the bill in the Lords.

Ian Blair: Police officers should supervise trained people

It said: "On no account read out the following paragraph.

"At the moment the bill does not allow for detention officers to be contracted out to the private sector but we are hoping to be able to put forward amendments in the Commons to enable that.

"Provided they are properly trained, there is no reason why such privately employed staff should not be able to conduct intimate searches."

Mr Blunkett said he was not supposed to criticise civil servants but said the warning was a "pretty silly thing to write down".

Bobbies on the beat

The home secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he was thinking about the proposal.

"We want to try and get uniformed trained police officers out on the beat in the community," he said.

Oliver Letwin fears policing could get worse

"To do so, we are prepared to use detention officers who are trained or custody nurses to do the body search."

Those nurses could be employed by the National Health Service, said Mr Blunkett.

Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Lord Dholakia told Today it was "shocking" that the Home Office should have tried to withhold the proposal from the House of Lords.

'Stupidity'

There had been serious concerns in the past about police detention and body searches, said Lord Dholakia, a former member of the Police Complaints Authority.

"To have such powers in the hands of detention officers who are not police officers and in many cases some of them may be employed by private firms is the height of stupidity," he added.

But Ian Blair, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police said there was no reason why trained officers could not take on such powers under the supervision of a police officer.

The Police Reform Bill is already facing a rocky passage through the Lords where opposition peers are against plans for civilian officers to be given the power to detain suspects.

Policing worries

Shadow home secretary Oliver Letwin underlined the Conservatives' continued opposition to the bill.

"By introducing a vast array of auxiliaries run by a whole host of disparate organisations with a disparate array of powers, there is a real risk that neighbourhood policing will be diminished, not enhanced," said Mr Letwin.

Ian Blair said the Metropolitan Police supported the idea of civilian officers - known as Community Support Officers (CSOs) - and the powers outlined for them in the bill.

Those officers would be directly employed by the police, he said, so guarding against a host of other organisations taking up street patrols.