Dr Reid, a challenge

The Home Secretary has warned that modern terrorism means Britain now faces "the most sustained period of threat since the end of the Second World War".

In a speech to the think tank Demos, John Reid said that many in Britain had failed to grasp the scale of the terrorist threat.

"I make this point about the requirement for a fundamental understanding of the nature of the struggle in which we're engaged," he said.

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What a load of 'cobblers'. Just because the British people are refusing to allow the likes of the Home Secetery (and his incompetent predecessor) to erode our basic freedoms without a murmer does not mean that people do not understand the very real threat posed by terrorism.

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"It will be wide, it will be long, it will be deep and it will be difficult. Our adversaries in international terrorism are completely unconstrained. The international terrorists of today are ruthless and unconstrained in every direction, including in their attempts to misuse our freedoms to undermine our free society."

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Saying that terrorists were abusing "great strengths" like the free media and ease of travel, he said: "They endeavour to drain our morale through the misuse of our freedoms by misrepresenting every mistake or over-reaction as if it is our primary or real purpose."

"We should not allow ourselves to be seduced by the terrorist who urges [us] to be the quickest to condemn our security forces and police on every occasion and the slowest to understand the problems they face in tackling a new and unconstrained enemy," Reid added.

The Home Secretary is right to point out that communities need to join forces with the Government in organising our own security. To achieve this, however, he will need to overcome the huge sense of alienation from government (and the Police), that most people now regrettably feel

Warning that Britain may have to give up some of its freedoms in the short term in order to protect them in the long term, the Home Scretary quite worringly said that the Government's terrorism legislation had proved necessary despite the opposition it has met from Parliament, the judiciary and the press.

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No Dr Reid, the terrorists win if we reduce our standards of justice or democracy !

Dr Reid also said that terrorism was a challenge faced by everyone in Britain. "Our common security in this country can only be assured by a common effort from all sections of society".

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Yes, agreed but politicians need to first reconect with all the people before they make grand statements which hint at reducing the very rights and freedoms we rightly expect.

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Indeed the terrorist threat is a huge worry but us Brits are made of very tough fiber. What is also worring is not that that senior 'New Labour' politicians have lost contact with the those that pay their salaries but that they don't realise that that is the case. What is most depressing about British politics at the momment is that there is no obvious credable alternative to the present buch of third rate politicians with huge egos that inhabit the Westminster village.