‘If there’s a vote of no confidence on 42 days, we’ll win’

In her only print interview, Jacqui Smith tells Matthew d’Ancona that her proposal for the detention of terror suspects does not undermine Magna Carta, that she is ‘frustrated’ by Lord Goldsmith, and that the ‘West Midlands housewife’ is a better judge of the threat than MPs

In a government stuffed with malfunctioning robots, nervous wrecks and preening Fauntleroys, Jacqui Smith shows every sign of being a fully paid-up member of the human race. Which, as it happens, is the first lucky break Gordon Brown has had in months.

It is a slight exaggeration to say that the Home Secretary holds her boss’s future in her hands — but only slight. Next week, the Commons will vote on extending the limit for detaining terror suspects to 42 days and — whatever he says to the contrary — the Prime Minister’s position will be deeply and instantly precarious if he loses. Victory is by no means in the bag.