Fears of a coalition Government split over terrorist control orders deepened today after senior Tory David Davis warned ministers not to use the Yemen bomb plot to weaken civil liberties.
Mr Davis said that neither Home Secretary Theresa May nor the intelligence agencies should try to exploit the al Qaeda cargo plane plan in a bid to retain the controversial security measures.
It emerged this weekend that a review of terror laws had been delayed because of divisions among ministers over the future of control orders.
Both the Liberal Democrats and the Tories in Opposition were committed to the scrapping of the orders. Suspects can be put under effective house arrest without a trial under current laws.
But Mrs May has dismayed some colleagues by suggesting she is now convinced of the need to keep the orders in place following reports from police and security services.
A review of counter-terrorism powers is to be carried out by Home Office intelligence chief Charles Farr. Former Director of Public Prosecutions Lord Macdonald of River Glaven will provide independent oversight to the review.
Mrs May denied she had been "overwhelmed" by pressure from the intelligence agencies, but Cabinet Minister Chris Huhne pointed out that his party had repeatedly voted against control orders.
Mr Davis, who as Shadow Home Secretary first devised the Tories' policy of opposing control orders, told the Standard that it was not just the Liberal Democrats who were keen to scrap the current system of detaining suspects without trial.
Senior ministers such as Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke and Attorney General Dominic Grieve are understood to be backing their coalition partners in an attempt to dump the orders.
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Mr Davis said: "It's not just a Lib Dem issue. There are plenty of Tory MPs who are very firm on the principle of liberty under the law.
"But it's not just a question of principle. Control orders simply haven't worked.
"The number of people who are suspected of terrorism has gone up by 25 per cent during these authoritarian approaches.
"As with stop and search and 28 days' detention without trial, this all acts as a recruiting sergeant for the terrorists. If the security agencies make a mistake, and don't do proper checks on passenger jets, the public end up paying for it."
