Labour rebel watch

By Iain Watson BBC News political correspondent

Government whips believe up to 50 Labour MPs do not support moves to extend the limit from 28 days. Gordon Brown says he will not back down, but the government has offered concessions. They probably need to cut rebel numbers to 30 to avoid defeat in the vote.

Returning to Parliament after the week-long half term break Mr Grogan said he had "wobbled" in his opposition to the government because his natural instinct was to "support a labour government in trouble". But walking through Westminster Hall he was haunted by the ancient ghosts of liberty: "I reflected that, while prime ministers come and go, our civil liberties are very important and have been hard won." He says that concessions such as allowing Parliament a bigger say in the process did not tackle his fundamental objections: "For me it is a principle really that it should be a massive national emergency if you are detaining people beyond 28 days."

On Monday evening Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, tried to win over Labour rebels at the regular private meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party. Several MPs, including Frank Doran, said they had been convinced by a "strong presentation" by the home secretary. But Mr Grogan said he was still in the rebels' ranks: "I wasn't convinced the measures the home secretary was suggesting would enhance the security of the country. We should not give up lightly liberties which have taken centuries to establish. Reluctantly, I still can't support the government."

Mr Grogan met with fellow Labour rebels behind closed doors at Westminster to go though the small print in the government's series of concessions. But he felt the home secretary had not gone far enough to convince him and some of his colleagues that the powers would be used only during a national emergency. He said: "The government will still be facing a very sizeable rebellion next week unless it makes radical changes." And even if the government wins the Commons vote, he predicted that the House of Lords would throw out the plans: "Many Labour peers as well as Tories and Liberals will send this back and strike out the 42 days."

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