As chancellor, Gordon Brown rarely spoke on Home Office matters but he has been more open on the issue since becoming prime minister-elect.

And, much to the disquiet of civil rights campaigners, a Brown-led government looks set to continue Tony Blair's attempts to drive through tougher terror laws.

The incoming prime minister has also aligned himself with the controversial £5bn ID card scheme and is likely to back Blair's pet crusade – the drive against anti-social behaviour.

He has pledged to introduce a range of measures – including re-opening the detention without charge debate – as part of his firm stance on counter-terrorism.

During a speech to the Chatham House foreign affairs think-tank in October last year, Brown claimed the Treasury would "take the lead in targeting terrorist finance and abuse of the global capital system".

He announced a range of measures to crack down on terror finances, including forensic accounting and freezing the assets of suspects.

Earlier this month, Brown made several proposals on tackling terrorism..

These include plans to give police powers to question suspects after they have been charged and making terrorism an aggravating factor, effectively increasing judges' sentencing power.

He also announced that he would increase the security budget and backed cross-party talks as part of a move towards allowing the use of intercept evidence in court.

"We must be vigilant for the benefit of security in this country," Brown argued.

"Anti-terror methods must be more sophisticated, with earlier intervention. That is why I support an increase in the length of detention to build up evidence across nations and I support post-charge questioning with an increase in police resources."

Civil liberties campaigners have condemned Brown's anti-terror policies as amounting to "internment" – a charge the chancellor has attempted to refute by balancing the tougher laws with greater judicial oversight.

The prime minister-elect believes he is more likely to win support for longer detention if he sweetens tough terror measures with parliamentary safeguards.

These include making the parliamentary intelligence and security committee, which currently reports to the prime minister, accountable to MPs by giving it similar status to Commons committees.

Brown also pledged a greater role for Parliament in overseeing the intelligence service and said he would make it a requirement for detained suspects to attend a weekly judicial review.

"Because we believe in the civil liberties of the individual, we must also strengthen accountability to Parliament and independent bodies overseeing the police, not subjecting people to arbitrary treatment," he said. 

"The world has changed, so we need tougher security. We must recognise there is a group of people we must isolate who are determined to attack. Our security must be strengthened, but we must also strengthen the accountability of our institutions."

Jails

Some saw the chancellor's support for Blairite policies as an attempt to boost his leadership credentials, but the chancellor looks set to continue – if not build on – Blair's tough stance on law and order.

Brown used a speech to the Association of Chief Police Officers to announce more funds to create jail places and help tackle the burgeoning prison population.

Speaking one week before moving into Number 10 and as jails in England and Wales reached bursting point, he said there would be fast-build places by the end of the year.

He also pledged a "radical review" of anti-drugs policies, with a focus on primary school education.

And, in keeping with New Labour's flagship 'respect' agenda, he said he would consider giving judges powers to impose longer sentences on people who commit violent crimes on public transport by making it an aggravated factor.

Speaking before being crowned Labour leader on June 24, he suggested that Citizens' Juries should enable ordinary people to contribute to policies.

"I believe that citizens' juries and citizens' jury service could become a thing of the future - inviting people from all parts of the country, 600 constituencies, one, two or three hundred people discussing an issue through, feedback to government and then government responding and saying this is what we are going to do as a result," he told BBC1's Politics Show.

"This is an important way of consulting."

ID cards

Another proposal which has won the condemnation of civil rights groups and the support of Brown is the ID card scheme.

The scheme is due to start for foreign nationals in 2008 and British citizens in 2009, becoming compulsory around 2010.

Opponents had their hopes that Brown would abandon ID cards dashed in May when he said the programme would be a part of his government's battle against crime and said it could help defeat terrorism.

The chancellor has insisted safeguards would be in place to ensure information held as biometric data was not abused.

For example, he said, any decision on making it compulsory to carry the cards would require the approval of Parliament and that an independent commissioner would oversee the national register database with individuals entitled to access information held on them.

However, reports suggested that in August 2006 he was planning to expand the scheme to enable high street businesses to share information with police databases, alerting officers when a wanted person used a cash machine or supermarket loyalty card.

And charging companies for access to the national identity register would make the scheme easier to afford.

Anti-social behaviour

The Asbo, introduced just one year into the New Labour government, epitomises Blair's approach to tackling anti-social behaviour by cracking down on dysfunctional families.

It was followed by the 'respect agenda', which aimed to restore "traditional" British values.

Brown has not endorsed the Asbo, but has signalled his support for the Blairite approach and it is unlikely he will differ drastically from his predecessor in dealing with the issue.

Indeed, the chancellor used the 2006 Labour conference to highlight his party's "commitment to a Britain of responsibilities as well as rights".

He told the ACPO conference that it would be "irresponsible" for the state "to do nothing and leave children at risk" when parents are "unable or unwilling to do their job".

And with a new Criminal Justice Bill set to target unruly families, it seems increasingly likely that Brown will drive through policies his predecessor would be proud of.