British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday narrowly won a vote for tougher terrorism laws, emerging with his grip on power shaky but intact after a tough political battle over balancing national security and civil liberties....

Blair's ex-chief legal adviser Lord Goldsmith and Britain's current chief prosecutor Ken Macdonald are among key officials who insist new police powers are unnecessary.

Goldsmith said the proposals could strain relations with Britain's Muslim communities and choke off a vital flow of intelligence to police.

Some critics see the issue as part of an ongoing fight to balance civil liberties and national security , following skirmishes on the use of police profiling, DNA and plans to introduce identity cards to the U.K. for the first time since World War II. [Link]