BRITAIN: British chancellor Gordon Brown and home secretary John Reid had their leadership ambitions on display yesterday ahead of Queen Elizabeth's speech which is expected to define terrorism and crime as a key election battleground between Labour and the Tories.
As the queen led the nation at the Cenotaph service of remembrance for Britain's war dead amid tight security in London, Mr Brown again backed police calls to be allowed to detain terror suspects for longer than the present 28 days and the use of telephone intercept evidence in the courts.
He used a newspaper interview to signal the unsurprising news that he would take personal charge of the fight against terrorism if, as expected, he succeeds Tony Blair as prime minister some time next year.
Dismissing Conservative leader David Cameron's proposal for a new ministry dedicated to countering terrorism, Mr Brown said: "If you are prime minister, you cannot devolve responsibility for protecting the nation."
He told the Sunday Times: "Every minister and every agency of government must take responsibility for security - each of them must play their part. But ultimately, because the fight against terrorism must be fought both at home and abroad, it is the prime minister who must take the lead, as Tony Blair has done."
More contentiously Mr Brown suggested only Labour could be trusted with protecting the country and that the Conservatives did not understand the scale of the threat facing Britain.
Ahead of Wednesday's queen's speech opening a new parliamentary session expected to be dominated by Bills on crime and terrorism, Mr Reid opened a second line of attack on the Tories - describing Mr Cameron's "hug a hoodie" views on combating anti-social behaviour as "dangerous" and "simplistic".
In an article in the Sunday Telegraph, regarded as evidence that he has not given up the possibility of challenging Mr Brown for the Labour succession, Mr Reid suggested the approach to crime would be an important dividing line between Labour and the Conservatives in the coming year in parliament.
The latest indication that Mr Reid might yet force a heavyweight contest for the Labour leadership came as education secretary Alan Johnson said he expected to support Mr Brown. Mr Johnson, who has abandoned his own hopes for the top job and is now campaigning for the deputy leader post, suggested the chancellor would welcome a challenge, while adding that he personally did not think it "a necessity".
Many close observers believe Mr Blair has refused to endorse Mr Brown as his successor in the hope that a serious "Blairite" candidate will emerge.
But while Mr Reid hopes his populist approach on crime and terror will increase his credibility as a leadership contender, Mr Cameron yesterday criticised Labour for already introducing too many "ineffectual" laws.
"We've seen an endless proliferation of new measures coming out of the Home Office, many of which end up never being used," he said.
"I fear we'll see more of the same in the coming queen's speech."
Mr Cameron - who is opposing the government's plans for ID cards - said if he became prime minister he would create a cabinet post specifically responsible for fighting terrorism.
Mr Brown meanwhile backed Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair's weekend call for an early review of the current 28-day limit for questioning terror suspects. Speaking in Berlin on Saturday, Sir Ian also called for police to be allowed to question suspects after they have been charged, and for consideration of a ban on people covering their faces and burning flags at public demonstrations.
Confirmation that Mr Brown expects the terrorist challenge to remain the "first priority" of his long-predicted premiership followed Mr Blair's assertion last Friday that the threat of Islamic terrorism would be with Britain for a generation.