The British Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, has said the relentless pursuit of Osama bin Laden would continue after the virtual end of the Taliban.
Echoing Washington's assertion that the struggle against international terrorism goes on, Mr Straw said: "It was always going to be difficult to find one individual but the relentless pursuit of Osama bin Laden and his key associates will go on until he is found and brought to justice or justice is brought to him."
Shrugging off disappointment that bin Laden had not been discovered in the Tora Bora mountain complex, Mr Straw insisted: "Meanwhile we should be celebrating the extraordinary achievements of the military, political, diplomatic and humanitarian coalition against the Taliban and these forces of evil."
Mr Straw told the BBC: "It is a remarkable achievement that in less than just four weeks the situation in Afghanistan and therefore the rest of the world has completely been transformed, and in these four weeks the world has become a very much safer place and Afghanistan a very much happier place."
However, as Mr Straw proclaimed liberation for the people of Afghanistan his colleague, the Home Secretary, Mr David Blunkett, was invoking the threat of a Christmas or New Year attack on Britain as he vowed to reverse Thursday night's House of Lords defeats and force through his anti-terror bill intact.
Mr Blunkett set the stage for a bruising constitutional fight with the Lords as he accused Conservatives and Liberal Democrats of "deliberate sabotage" in removing key elements with the effect of "disembowelling" his entire anti-terrorist package. Despite the offer of concessions on two of the disputed issues, last night it seemed clear Mr Blunkett was determined to prevent any significant change in the thrust of the legislation.
Unprecedented co-operation between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats produced six defeats for Mr Blunkett on his anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill. Peers voted to re-instate a right of judicial review for foreign nationals who might be interned, and rejected government proposals to give police powers demanding that a wide range of public bodies, including schools and hospitals, disclose information relevant to criminal investigations and proceedings.
The Lords also threw-out new powers to require internet service providers and businesses to retain data for use in investigations, with Lady Bushcombe, for the Tories, declaring that the legislation "must not be used as a convenient vehicle and excuse for legitimising fishing expeditions". With the Lords expected to narrow the focus of the bill further on Monday, Mr Blunkett yesterday branded his opponents "naive" and confirmed his determination to over-turn the amendments when the Bill returns to the Commons next Wednesday.
The Tory leader in the Lords, Lord Strathclyde, said the amended bill still gave exceptional new powers to fight terrorism, while adding:
"The amendments deny the state the right, which many feared, to commandeer private and personal information on the merest suspicion of a criminal offence quite unrelated to terrorism."