Tony Blair is preparing to introduce a battery of new anti-terror laws as the government moves to prevent the UK becoming a haven for terrorists.

New legislation will be introduced to speed-up extraditions, tighten asylum laws and permit the indefinite detention of suspect terrorists. Gordon Brown will today announce new measures aimed at seizing the assets of terror groups.

As dissent appeared to be growing amongst backbenchers, John Prescott intervened yesterday with a sober conference speech in which he said that Tony Blair could expect the "unanimous support" of the party's grassroots for the UK's war on terrorism.

However, civil rights groups have expressed serious reservations about the draconian nature of the proposals. A spokesman for Liberty told today's Independent that "nobody persecuted in their own country should be locked up here without good reason".

The United Nations will today kick-off a five-day general assembly debate in which representatives from across the world will begin to search for a new long-term strategy to tackle terrorism. It has also despatched a food convoy to Kabul as it seeks to resume the delivery of emergency supplies to Afghanistan.