UK 'has longest' terror detention

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As ministers prepare to controversially extend the current 28-day period, Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti described the comparison with 15 other countries as "astonishing".

The survey found that the next longest period for detention without charge was just 12 days in Australia.

European countries granted police an even shorter timescale - detectives in Turkey are given 7.5 days and those in France six days.

Ms Chakrabarti told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "All of these countries, many of them face very similar challenges from international terrorism to here.

"Spain suffered the Madrid bombings, they have five days, and there wasn't a great big row about pre-charge detention there."

While direct comparisons with foreign legal systems can be difficult, Ms Chakrabarti said Liberty had asked lawyers and academics in each country to use a similar yardstick.

On the comparatively short detention periods overseas, she added: "It's really quite astonishing given that this has been one of the most contested issues in British politics for more than two years now."

She suggested that, rather than extending the detention period still further, ministers should copy methods from abroad, including charging suspects with lesser crimes while continuing to investigate more complicated and serious offences.