'No decision on detention length'

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While accepting there have been no cases in which police needed more than the current 28-day detention limit, she said it was "at least highly possible" such an instance would yet arise.

But pressed about the Government's preferred new time limit, Ms Smith maintained she was in no position to say. "The answer is I don't know," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Her comments came ahead of Wednesday's Commons debate on counter-terrorism after the Queen's Speech, which Gordon Brown used to announce a Bill allowing post-charge questioning, which would change the law to permit police to interview suspects even after they have been charged.

The sovereign's address to the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday contained no fresh details about the Government's favoured extension of the 28-day pre-charge detention period.

But there has been speculation that ministers are prepared to compromise on a move to double the limit to 56 days as they seek a cross-party consensus.

Ms Smith declined on Wednesday to give any further indication of the period under consideration in Whitehall but pointed out that the Tories raised the idea of a 58-day period. This is based on the use of a 30-day provision in the Civil Contingencies Act on top of the existing 28-day terror laws.

Ms Smith said: "There should be a maximum period (but) we have not decided - I think it is at least possible, my argument is others have argued that actually up to 58 days is necessary."

She said there was "widespread support" for post-charge questioning but that would not be "a panacea in itself" and there was still a need to extend pre-charge detention.

"There is a clear trend of growing complexity, growing numbers of people involved, of international links, that make it at least highly possible that at some point, longer than 28 days may be necessary for police and other investigators to investigate, interview, sift the evidence, and make the international links to be able to charge somebody," Ms Smith insisted.