Innocent until proved hypothetically guilty - 28 day detention.

Two senior men in the world of law today informed the home affairs committee that an extension to the 28 day detention limit was not required. Sir Ken MacDonald the director of public prosecutions, and Ex-Attorney General Lord Goldsmith disagree with minsters and police who say they want to extend detention without charge. Sir Ken said: "Our experience so far has been that we have managed - and managed reasonably comfortably. "Of course it's always possible to set up hypothetical situations in which it could become extremely challenging - and it's for Parliament to decide whether it wants to proceed on the basis of hypotheticals - rather than the evidence we have received so far. "If after 25 or 26 days you couldn't find a reasonable suspicion to justify a charging decision it might be quite difficult for a prosecutor to persuade a court."

Lord Goldsmith, who quit as attorney general when Gordon Brown became prime minister, said: "If the 90 day proposal had come from the Commons unamended, I would not have found it possible to vote for it. "I didn't see any evidence during my time to indicate that longer than 28 days was necessary."

This should surely put an end to the government's obsession with extending the detention limit, but knowing this lot, and how they think they can do as they please, I will not be holding my breath.