Lord West boasts Britain is best prepared country to handle terrorism - but MI5 says differently

The Security Minister appeared to contradict official warnings led by the head of MI5 that the dangers from terrorism are worsening.

MPs claimed the former First Sea Lord had thrown Government policy into confusion by saying that Britain faced a "steadily declining threat".

Lord West was trying to restore his reputation in a Sunday newspaper interview after a week that saw him perform a humiliating policy u-turn.

He denied he had been ordered by Gordon Brown to back Government plans to extend the 28-day limit for detaining terror supects, after initially saying he had yet to be convinced.

Last night MPs criticised Lord West after he said there had been a "dramatic improvement" in the UK's security since the Prime Minister took over in June.

"I think we're ahead of all countries in the world on the protection front, which is great," he told The Sunday Telegraph.

He said measures outlined last Wednesday to improve defences at airports, train stations and other public places represented part of a "step change" in approach.

But Shadow home secretary David Davis said: "On 5 November, the Head of MI5 publicly set out the 'growth' in the domestic security threat, saying 'I don't think that this problem has yet reached its peak', explaining that 'we will not be able to cover every potential threat'.

"Today Lord West says we face 'a steadily declining threat', claiming that our counter-terrorism defences are 'ahead of all countries in the world on the protection front'.

"It is not likely to enhance public confidence when the head of the Security Service and the Security Minister give such inconsistent assessments."

And Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said: "First Lord West flip-flops over 28 days, then he brags about Britain's preparedness. This is not the way to improve public confidence in national security."

Last week Lord West, who was made a peer and given a job by Mr Brown in July as part of a move to involve outside experts in policy making, reversed his position on 28-day detention.

The Premier is pressing MPs to back new powers that would allow police to hold suspects for up to 56 days under specific conditions overseen by a judge, the Home Secretary and Parliament.

Lord West was forced to "clarify" his position within an hour of telling the BBC's Today programme that he had yet to be convinced of the need for extending the limit.

Yesterday he denied being "hauled in" by the Prime Minister for a ticking off, saying he attended Number 10 for a pre-arranged breakfast.

Meanwhile, Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly suggested that airport-style security scanners would not be an automatic feature at all main train stations. Security measures had to be "proportionate" and were a matter for the police.

Asked if scanners would be at most large train stations, she told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "What we have got to do is do this in a proportionate way.

"Operational decisions will always be for the police. I think it is right that they have the facility to do that when they think that is necessary."