British Prime Minister Tony Blair has defended his decision to toughen up anti-terror legislation.
Government plans to hold terrorism suspects for up to three months without charge have sparked criticism from civil rights activists who are also concerned about them being deported to countries with dubious human rights records.
British primie minister Tony Blair
"Virtually everyone in Europe following terrorist acts has been toughening up their legislation," Mr Blair told BBC Radio. He said that people calling tougher legislation an abrogation of civil liberties could be accused of exaggeration.
"If, when you are here you want to stay here, play by the rules, play fair, don't start inciting people to go kill other innocent people in Britain," he said.
British police yesterday seized seven Algerians as national security threats yesterday and said they would deport them.
Official sources said the men were all former defendants accused, but never convicted, of involvement in a 2002 plot to manufacture the deadly ricin poison.
British Home Secretary Charles Clarke said they would not be deported to any place they would face torture. But human rights group Amnesty said the detainees must be allowed to properly challenge the grounds for deportation.
Gareth Pierce, lawyer for three of the seven men, said: "They went through a six-onth trial where they saw all of the evidence and where the jury exonerated them.
"They have now been thrown into a new process deliberately constructed so that they will see none of the evidence and the ultimate object of it is to send them to a country [Algeria] where they will be tortured."